The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Adventure
by BCandTheSundaceK
Summary: Midna returns to the Twilight Realm finding it in great peril. She cries out to Zelda and Link to help her bring order to her kingdom. But with the Mirror of Twilight destroyed how will Link and Zelda aid their friend?
1. Chapter 1: The Plea

_Links face was exuberant, The Great King of Evil Ganondorf_ _was defeated. The Dark Lord would no longer threaten his beloved Hyrule._ _What surprised the youth even more was the fact that Midna was still alive, she was seemingly killed by the Dark Lord, when she attempted to defeat him herself. Link gazed in awe at Midna's new form, her true form. Her striking beauty, her flowing fiery red hair, captivated him so much he couldn't help but stare._

"_What? Say Something. Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?" The words flowed from her lips, like a scripted event._

_ She could see all these events taking place, feel herself participating, but she was unable to create a new action, it happened the same way every time. They arrived at the Mirror of Twilight, She said her goodbyes, thanked Zelda for all of her help. Her eyes locked on to Link. She saw him standing there so close to Zelda. She thought of all those many months she spent with him alone, questing to save Hyrule, and her own Twilight Realm. She was taken by him; she now realized that she did indeed love him. He had put up with her antics and rude behavior, her secrets, and dealt with them in turn. He only ever showed her kindness and compassion. He was a brave and good man. She wanted to stay with him in Hyrule, but she knew she had to return to her own kingdom. She wanted to bring him with, but could see his place was here, just as her's was in her own realm. She looked at Zelda with a twinge of jealousy, though she doubted the two had any feelings for each other in their brief time together, she wished she could stay in Hyrule, as Zelda could._

_ She wanted to tell Link what she felt, but her voice choked in her throat. "I …" She started, her voice whimpering off, a tear sliding down her cheek. "See you later…" _

_The tear drifted towards the mirror, striking it, causing it to fracture. Link and Zelda's heads looked to the mirror to investigate the sound, when they turned back to see Midna she was already fading into the portal. Leaving the portal would foster a false hope, a future with Link, it was something she could never have, and keeping a reminder would only make things harder. Life would be easier in Hyrule, with Link, and keeping the mirror would prove too strong a temptation for her. If she were to succeed she would need her mind to remain focused, not split. She faded the rest of the way into the portal, as the mirror shattered into a million pieces. Tears streamed down her face, tears Link would never see, down a face he could never look upon again. _

It was the same dream that haunted her for the past few weeks, though it in itself was more than a dream it was a memory. She often wondered if it was the right thing to do, if it were worth the pain. She despised herself for breaking the mirror; she had done it to rid herself of these moments. She had done it to keep focused, to keep her mind form splitting to two different lines of thoughts: Link and her Kingdom. Well she had succeeded, she only had one thought that dominated her mind, and it was Link. She couldn't control her dreams, but she could control her actions. She sat up in her bed, pulling her hair out of her face. It clung to her face, wet, just as the pillow she laid on, she could taste the salt, as she pulled the strands from her lips. She wiped off her face and emerged from her room. She didn't want her subjects to see her this way; she needed to be strong for them. Just a few short weeks ago, she was sleeping in tents, hiding in shadows, she had to admit; this was a step up in living. However the stress remained the same.

Defeating Zant and finishing off Ganondorf, was a formable task, but the daily chores of running a kingdom were long and tiresome. They wore you into a thin thread, which eventually would peel apart, whereas she was used to dealing with things head on, either they would make or break you, it didn't involve any stringing along, delaying the inevitable, the agony was unbearable. She now had a newfound respect for Zelda, it must have been exceedingly hard on her to sit and watch her kingdom fall while she could only watch, unable to intervene. But intervene she did, she was able to overcome her captivity and help overthrow the invaders. Her trip down memory lane was interrupted as Jaster entered the thrown room.

Midna liked Jaster, he was one of the few liaisons of the court that she didn't hate. He was an older man, who had been around for a while, and new the tricks of the trade. He was helping Midna rule her new kingdom.

"Jaster!" Midna let out, with a little too much enthusiasm; apparently she was more drawn in with reminiscing that she realized. Jaster provided her with an opportunity to reconnect to the now, the present. She had underestimated her desire to rid herself of sorrow, and now had frightened poor Jaster.

"Your Highness," he greeted, gathering up his wits

"For what do I owe this honor," Midna started, it was part of the rules of etiquette Jaster had been hammering into her skull ever since she returned. She was still getting used to it, she was used to her curt, and sarcastic replies. Neither of which flew well in the Royal Court.

"Bad News I'm afraid," he began. "It seems as if the Kingdom remains in unrest, especially over the destruction of the Mirror of Twilight, which, if I'm not mistaken, you had a part in."

Midna's eyes shot to the floor. It seemed to her, regardless what she did; she was met with fear and hostility among her subjects. This was just the latest of the laments of the people, having only found out a while ago that the Mirror of Twilight was destroyed.

"But it seems to me, the crowd is against you no matter what you do," He said reassuring her thoughts on the matter. "They just want a scapegoat, they don't give a Like Like's backside about the issues, they just want to vent."

She smiled Jaster was a good friend, and he made even the grimmest of news easy to swallow with his coy demeanor.

"Well that's not too bad at all, only a week on the thrown and only half the Kingdom wishes to usurp me." She joked

"And that isn't the worst part of the news I'm hearing." Jaster continued. "Only a third of the Kingdom rallies under your banner. Roughly two-thirds of the kingdom either sympathizes with Zant's ideology, or are a mutinous bunch that doesn't believe a Light-world sympathizer who is more invested in the Realm of Hyrule should rule over the Realm of Twilight."

"That's absurd!" Midna roared, "What have I done that makes them think I hold Hyrule in higher regard than my own kingdom, I even destroyed that accursed mirror. Doesn't that prove I'm fully invested in this kingdom?"

"They wish you hadn't destroyed the mirror, and that isn't what they are talking about. They mean, as they put it 'when you fled' from the Twilight realm to Hyrule. To get away from the upheaval that Zant began. They say you were so worried about the realm of Hyrule, you abandoned the Twilight to aid them, instead of aiding us."

"That's preposterous! I went there, because it was the only way to retrieve the Fused Shadow, and the Fused Shadow was the only way to stop Zant's onslaught!" Jaster reassured her, that he understood, what she did. It was the Kingdom that was twisting the facts to make them meet their own ends. He informed her that she needed to address the Kingdom tomorrow, and above all remain calm and collected; if she didn't it would be yet another jugular for the angry mobs to jump at. They spent the rest of the day going over the preparations for her speech. Tomorrow when she delivered it, it had to be perfect. Midna, was worried about the speech she was going to deliver, she could see through her window many of her subjects had arrived. The Royal Guard had been doubled, just incase some self-righteous subject tried to start something. Their presence would prove important. Midna didn't even get half way through her address when it started. The mob unexpectedly flared up. They charged the guards and began making their way towards the castle. Midna who was on a balcony of the castle using it as a raised podium was safe from the surge of villagers. Her rebellious subject used her address which was supposed to unite the kingdom as a wedge to drive in their seeds of rebellion. Jaster exploded in through the arch that led to the balcony. Midna turned to see his face; it was paler than the usual whiteness of the Twili race. All the blood had flushed to his muscles leaving little in his face.

"Hurry!" He cried, indicating that Midna should flee with him. They passed through her bedroom, halfway down the hallway connecting it to the thrown room. Jaster reached out and pushed on a seemingly random brick. The brick went into the wall and activated a trap door, before restoring itself to its prior depth, causing it to blend in with the rest of the brick work. Jaster pushed on the trap door, which was a section of brick work that made up the wall that the switch was located on. He encouraged Midna into the passageway with a gentle push, before going through himself and sealing the door. They entered not a moment too soon. As soon as the seal locked back into place, they could hear the sounds of the mob storming the castle. Had they gone through a second later Midna surely would have been apprehended, possibly even killed. Making their way through the bowels of the castle to a secret sub-chamber Midna and Jasper came upon several dozen of the castle caretakers and elite royal guards who also managed to escape.

The caravan of hunted Twili marched along the maze of the castle leading them to a cave entrance far outside the castle. Midna reflected on how it had only seemed like yesterday that she was on the run, sleeping outdoors. Perhaps this is the life intended for her, not one to rule, but one to be evicted and pursued. The caravan formulated a plan of escape. Having all these bodies travel as a cohesive group was bound to attract unwanted attention. The group was sub-divided up into several groups that would all rendezvous at the little village of Dinayru that Midna had once vacationed at when she was a little girl. It was a small town far away from the center of the kingdom that few people heard of or traveled too. It was a save haven employed by the royal family for generations. She knew they would be safe there. The parties headed out in their separate directions, convinced in several weeks they would all meet again.

Midna spent most of the trip in solitude. She was upset by the turn of events that had taken place. How could civil unrest arise in her citizens so quickly, were other forces at work here? Or was she simply a bad ruler? Either way to restore herself as rightful ruler of these people she knew she had to rally troops to her cause.

"If only I hadn't destroyed that mirror." She said out loud to herself. She knew Link would aid her during this desperate time, but there was no way he could cross the boundary to the Twilight Realm. She was on her own. The _Fused Shadow_ was in ruins, and despite her mastery of magic, she could only do so much herself. Her entire race was adept in magic; she needed something to give her the edge, something that people could get behind. She felt a twinge of cold at the nape of her neck; she turned around to see if anyone was there. One of the magical abilities she possessed was telepathy, to a limited extent; she could sense people if they were near. The twinge slowly traveled its way up her neck to her head, and soon her whole head was abuzz. Shaking her head, Midna rose up and headed toward the river, to splash some sense into her head. Obviously the anxiety of today's events was getting to her. Using telekinesis Midna raised a oval of water up to her face, slowly bringing it to contact her skin. When it was a little more than nose length away she noticed something in the reflection. It was as if someone had superimposed a dim portrait of Princess Zelda's face over her own. 

_Of course!_ She thought, remembering back to her adventures with Link.

When Midna was near death, Zelda had revived her by fusing their two physical beings together, and part of their spirits. However before she became fully merged with Zelda's spirit, Ganondorf, captured it containing it for his own dark purposes. But during that split second of connection, Midna had developed a weak link between her mind and that of Zelda. She couldn't read her mind, but she could sense it was there. She also could communicate much the way one could send a letter to a friend. But it wasn't a strong communication; it was but a whisper on the winds. Midna could feel herself sending out a plea for help, but she couldn't tell if Zelda was able to decipher its meaning. Midna knew she had a powerful ally in Zelda, but she also knew that it was likely nothing could come of it. She had the same problem Link did, she couldn't cross the barrier. Midna also knew she had time, maybe this wouldn't solve the problem she had, but it gave her an option, and right now what she needed was more options. She would continue to message Zelda in hopes of receiving word from her. Hoping that she herself would be able to decipher any whispers Zelda sent back. While she traveled to Dinayru she would continue to hail Zelda, while she thought of other possibilities to help her secure power in her realm. She had faith in herself, she had several weeks of a journey she knew she would think of something by the time she arrived in Dinayru, and if not, she then knew that she couldn't be the rightful ruler of the Twilight Realm.


	2. Chapter 2: A Reunion

_She could hear her voice, calling down the hall. It called her name "Zelda…" It was a faint whisper. She rose from her bed and followed the voiced lulled toward it, like an infant seeking her mother. She walked towards it, though never getting nearer to the source. She followed the voice through the entire castle of Hyrule, finally following it outside. When she stepped outside she didn't find her familiar courtyard instead she was in front of the Mirror of Twilight, at the Arbiter's Grounds. This was certainly no place for a princess in her silk nightgown to be. But she felt strangely at ease. She approached the mirror, and instead of seeing her own face looking back at her, it was that of Midna. Zelda could now make out what she was saying. _

_"Zelda… you've done so much for me, I hate to ask you for more, but the Twilight Realm is in grave danger. I fear that you are my only hope. Help us if you can, if you can't cross the plane into our world; pray to your goddesses that they have mercy on us…" _

_Zelda raised her hand to touch the mirror, reaching out towards Midna's cheek. Only to have the mirror explode into a million pieces as her hand almost touched it. And with that she was alone_

For a week Zelda had been haunted by this mysterious dream. She was certain that it was no ordinary dream; it was a message from Midna herself_._ As to how she passed this message to her, she had no idea. All she knew was that the Mirror of Twilight was destroyed, their only bridge to the Twilight Realm. She had the Royal scholars frantically looking for other clues on how to traverse to the Dark World. They had come up with nothing. Zelda requested that they keep looking and inform her if they come across anything useful. She herself would go and actively seek out a possible way across the dimensions. She told the Royal Messengers to forward any word discovered by the scholars to her in the town of Ordon. She was going there to meet Link, hoping that perhaps he had some answers.

Zelda hadn't seen Link in over a month; it had been that long since Midna had departed. Zelda knew if anyone was to help Midna, it would be Link. Link had also been the only Hylian to visit the Twilight Realm since the banishment of the Dark Interlopers. If there were another way there he would be the best source Zelda could find. And she thought to herself, she wouldn't mind seeing the handsome, courageous youth again. She wished she could have spent more time with him after his adventures, so she could her about them. But he was eager to return home to see his friends again. Apparently his village had been hit hard during the war.

Link was surprised how easily he fell back into his old habits. It was as if he had never been apart of that war that had raged on only a few weeks ago. The entire town thought they would be overrun with tourists coming to see their legendary Hero of Twilight, and Link would be constantly reminded of his adventures by adoring fans. They could never have guessed that they would be far from the truth. Life in the little town of Ordon had returned to its livestock raising roots, raising enough animals to support the town, and sell on the markets that sprawled across Hyrule. Some enthusiasts did find their way to the little backwoods town, seeking the hero. They often found what was presented in front of their eyes as hard to shallow. This youth, who was a farm hand hardly aspired to their fantasies of the muscle bound giant hurling fire balls, and lighting bolts, wielding the monstrous hammer of legend in one had, and the Master Sword in the other. Instead finding a boy who had not yet finished growing, having never heard of any fabled hammer, and presenting only an ornate blade of his hometown.

The travelers dismissed this as a simple ploy to increase sales from a town whose story no one could back. There were several other consensuses among the people of Hyrule. One was that this supposed hero was really a compilation of many soldiers in the Hylian army and their exploits during the war, for surely no one could complete so many fantastic adventures. The other was that most of the story was propaganda spread by the Royal Family that mirrored the Legendary Hero of Time's journey, in order to bring support behind them after their failings to protect the kingdom. After all, it was only through rigorous planning and executions of schemes by the Hylian army that allowed Hyrule to regain power. Besides they'd say such magical feats are so unbelievable, unseen since the Imprisoning War.

All this was fine with Link; he had enough fans amongst the town's children. The children however were just as impressed with his daily feats, such as rounding up the goats, or shooting his bow, as they were with his dimension crossing adventures. Link had intended to use this time to catch up with his old friend Ilia, but she had been so busy with the other villagers that she didn't have time to catch up with him. As his thoughts shifted away from Ilia, she came jogging in his direction. He set down the brush he had been grooming Epona with and headed out to meet her.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"There is a huge caravan of wagons," Ilia explained. "They are marked with the seal of the Royal Family."

Ilia informed Link that they had just arrived in Ordon, and it was rumored that the Princess had come all the way just to meet with Link. Link really didn't know the Princess well; truthfully all he remembered was her captivating beauty, which eerily paralleled Midna. Link saddled up on Epona, pulling up Ilia, and headed towards Ilia's house. He assumed that they would head to Bo's house; after all he was the mayor, as well as Ilia's father. As he entered the house, he saw Bo talking to a figure wearing a black cloak, with an image he had come to learn was the symbol of the Sheikah tribe. It was the same cloak that Zelda had worn all those months ago when he first met her as a Wolf. The hood lay upon the nape of her neck, no longer shrouding her face, and sadness.

She greeted Link, in her normal calm demeanor and calmly requested a private audience with Link. After she ushered the townsfolk out of Bo's house, the feminine figure turned around faced Link, and took his hands in hers. Looking up from the ground her eyes met his. Link couldn't help blush a little, luckily Zelda didn't notice.

"Link…" She began, her eyes digging deeper into his own. "I have asked so much of you already, I hate to be yet a further burden, but I ask this not of myself, but of a mutual friend."

"Midna?" Link asked, feeling stupid.

"Yes" Zelda confirmed. "She is in danger, and needs our help. I just don't know if we can aid her or not. There is no way into the Twilight Realm, save the shattered Mirror of Twilight. I am hoping to find another way, and was wondering if you would join me on my quest."

"Of course," Link answered. "You didn't even need to ask."

Zelda proceeded to question Link about his experience in the Twilight Realm, and if he knew of any way into the parallel realm. Link confessed that he knew very little of the Twilight Realm, and knew of no other way to get there. All he knew was when he crossed the barriers between the light world, and the twilight when Zant had invaded the kingdom, he would take the form of the Wolf.

Zelda thanked Link for his valuable information and informed him of their plans. "We will be leaving tomorrow, if you wish to do so you are welcome to join us, I wish for you to join me, but I want it to be of your own free will."

Link reassured her that he would be there. With a slight nod from Zelda's head, Link left the house, saddled up on Epona and headed out towards his house. Link packed up various maps, gadgets and weapons he had acquired on his journeys. When he went to load his Ordonian sword into Epona's saddle he found that it was missing. Link, knew that he would find it at Rusl's house.

He found Rusl sitting in his armchair, with the sword lying across his lap. He could see Uli tending to their newborn; Colin obviously had been put to bed, for it was pretty late.

"I assume you're going off on another adventure." Rusl said asking his rhetorical question.

Link only nodded, Rusl, had been somewhat of a surrogate father to Link. He was more of a mentor, and protector in Link's eyes, but Rusl still felt responsible for Link.

"You left Bo's house in such a flurry, that we couldn't ask what had happened. I know I can't stop you from going, and adventuring is a young man's game. I can't go with you this time, I hope you understand. I just want to you to know that we will always be here for you if you need anything."

"And please feel free to write," Uli said, the trails of tears visible on her cheeks. "We'd love to hear from you, especially Colin."

Link nodded, hugging both of his friends, assuring them he would be back when his adventure was done. Link took the Ordon Sword, walking back to his house. It would soon be morning, and he would be heading out. He needed all the sleep he could get.

The morning came sooner than Link had expected. Pulling on his Hero's Tunic, he headed down his house. The Nayruthril mail underneath the tunic was a familiar weight against Link's torso. The lightweight yet strong alloy forged by the Goron's of old was one of the strongest materials known to all inhabitants of Hyrule; no known weapon of moral origin could pierce it. Link had inadvertently tested this theory himself and new it to be true. It was perhaps the most valuable item he had from his travels. It was a strange comfort, he had forgotten. He ran his fingers across it, then banged on his Hylian shield, hoping he wouldn't need to employ either of them during his journey.

He saddled up upon Epona, and rode out to meet Zelda who stood by her elaborate carriage that would serve as her home and transport for the upcoming weeks. Zelda however stated that she wished to ride alongside Link, upon a white mare, so exquisite, that Link swore it was descendant of the mythical Unicorn. Zelda assured her guards that she would be quite safe riding next to Link, but they insisted on forming a ring around the two teens. Link was quite certain that she would be fine, even without his so called protection.

"What's the plan?" Link asked cutting threw the hostile atmosphere the Royal Guard's produced.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd have an idea," Zelda admitted. "I have reached a dead end here, as well as back at the castle."

"Well," Link said. "Then we're in luck, I know just the man who can help us out with our problem."

Slowly the caravan lumbered out of the small town of Ordon, heading north, towards the Lanayru Province.


	3. Chapter 3: An Old Friend

The entourage entered Hyrule Castle Town, heading towards the stables of the Royal Family. With great reluctance Link surrendered Epona to the stable boy tending the other steeds of Royal Family. Zelda assured him that Epona would be just fine here amongst other horses, in fact she probably will be better than ever when Link returned to pick her up. After being treated to a feast which celebrated the princess' return, Link suggested that they find his friend.

Zelda agreed, however she felt it necessary that Link change out of his clothes to reduce attention, they didn't need someone parading around as the Hero of Twilight, it would only slow them down, after all it would give the townsfolk a chance to see the real hero not that farm boy form the backwoodsy town of Ordon. Link obliged the request, and donned a garment one of the servants offered him. It was a simple uniform consisting of a white tunic, and brown pants. He would now be indistinguishable from any other Hylian wondering the streets of Hyrule Castle Town.

Link headed down to the stables to check on Epona, while he waited to be fetched by a royal servant. He assumed they would relay a message from Zelda telling him what he should do when he came upon his friend. He knew his adventure with the Hylian Princess was over, and now he would be on his own again.

"I thought I would find you down here." A servant girl said as she approached Link.

She too wore a simple outfit, similar to his own, obviously she was worked, and other wise she would be in a dress. Link looked at the beautiful young woman and was shocked to see that it was Princess Zelda herself.

"I didn't realize you were coming with me." He stated truthfully.

"No one else does either, they believe I am up in my chambers, and that is how it shall remain." She explained. "You're not the only one who would draw unwanted attention," she continued explaining her attire. "I made a promise to Midna, and I intend to fulfill it. I wasn't able to fight for my people, but I will return the favor, Midna fought in my stead, and I will do the same for her."

Link smiled, her attitude reminded him of Midna, but Zelda was wrong she had fought for her people; she helped him defeat Ganondorf, which was no small task. Few other royals had braved such a feat for their people, and it wasn't something anyone would scoff at.

"You're one of the bravest Princesses I know." Link said, reassuring her that she had been helpful during the last war.

"And how many Princesses do you know?" She mocked, in a playful tone, similar to the banter that he had shared with Midna.

Link laughed as he held up two fingers, perhaps this wouldn't be such a lonesome adventure after all.

Unlike the Backwoodsy farm boy from Ordon, Telma's Bar had achieved great fame. This is was the den of the Hero of Twilight, where he and his soldiers met and plotted the downfall of Zant. It was always bustling with tourists, as well as the regulars, like a small statured historian, whose attendance no one could fathom. Darmion the Goron bouncer, always had to clear a table for him, and such added attention only confused the tourists more.

Darmion had started at the bar, soon after Link saved the Goron populace from Fyrus, and rescued Darbus their patriarch. He had been there when the Prince Ralis stumbled through the door. He knew The Group well, and was a trusted confidant and friend to Telma, as well as the rest of Adventurer's Guildthat resided in the Castle Town. He had just finished escorting Shad to the table that Ashei occupied, begging their pardon that he had to get back to work. Evening hours were approaching and the kitchen was closing so he had to start attending his duties as door manger. Keeping young kids out, the night life of Telma's bar was no place for eager young adults. It wasn't too uncommon for a man who had too much mead to start a fight about something as simple as an accidental bump.

_Just my luck_, he thought, as he headed towards the door. It was barely dark out, and already some kids were trying to sneak in. He didn't like having to kick people out, but he knew it was for their own good, and when Darmion kicked you out you stayed kicked out. He had quite the reputation for scaring these kids straight. He made his way through the sea of people, roughly grabbing the punk kid and his sweetheart he had drug along. _What an idiot_ he thought, _this is no place for a fair maiden, I'll have to give this kid a talking to._ As his fist clenched around the arm of the two Hylians, a familiar face turned around with a startled expression. It was Link; he was so overcome with joy, the Goron, released his hold on the other youth, and embraced the boy lifting him up into the air, crushing his fragile body. Link would have preferred the hard grip around his arm, and being tossed out into the street, to a Goron hug.

"Link!" He cried. "I haven't seen you in ages, how are you brother."

He set Link back on the floor, and as soon as he recovered he replied. "I've come to find Shad, I didn't know where else to start looking for him."

"Well you're in luck brother, he just arrived. And who is this woman you are with, is she your mate?"

Glancing at Zelda, and deciding it best not to reveal her true identity even to his friend he said. "She's just a friend. Wow business has really picked up since the last time I was here." He said changing the subject, hoping Darmion would get the hint, and not ask more questions about Zelda.

"Yes ever since that famous hero was discovered to have used this as his base of operations, people came flooding in. I'm surprised you didn't know about it." He said giving Link a wink. "Let me bring you over to Shad, he is in his usual corner booth with Ashei, I'm sure they are both excited to see you brother."

Darmion cleared a path for Link and Zelda treating them like royalty, bringing them to the corner table. Soon the group received gifts of food and drink on the house. Both of Link's companions were delighted to see him again. They recounted their adventures and filled each other in on what was happening. They were most interested to hear what Rusl had been up to. As the conversation wore on, and the wee hours of the night approached they finally inquired about the maiden sitting next to Link, which is when he revealed why he had come back to Castle Town.

Zelda answered "A mutual friend of ours is in need of help, and I understand you may be able to help us."

"Mutual friend?" Ashei inquired.

"Midna." Link answered.

"Ahh," Shad said in a hushed whisper drawing closer to the center of the table. "Then you must be the famous Princess Zelda." Shad stated having deciphered her true identity. Ashei drew back as to take in Zelda's full form, trying to give credence to what Shad claimed.

"Yes, I am she, but please you must keep this quiet we don't want any extra attention." Zelda pleaded.

"We could shout your name out, and no one would notice." Ashei responded. "We have four members of the Adventure's Guild in this place, and no one pays us any heed. They are all too wrapped up in their own fantasies to see the reality that is in front of their faces. The very Goddess themselves could walk through here unnoticed."

"Don't worry Miss," Shad added tactfully "We will not test the theories of my colleague. We would have kept your secret anyways."

"I don't wish to impose our problems upon you. We were hoping you might have some information about how to get into the Twilight Realm." Zelda explained.

"Well, you've imposed." Ashei curtly stated, "And now you have us, so you'd better deal with it."

"Don't mind her, she is very brash." Shad explained. "What makes you think we would have such information?"

"I was uncertain if you had come across anything about the creation of the Mirror of Twilight in your studies, perhaps there was another way to the Twilight Realm." Link explained.

Shad's brow furrowed, eyebrows crushing down upon his eyes, trying to smother them out of the light. Glancing at the chronometer on the wall, he leaned back and addressed the group. "I may have something in my library, but it is back at my study, and would take a while to translate. I shall write the rest of the Guild, and inform them of our plight. Meet me in my study tomorrow before lunch." He then gave Link directions to his study on the west side of Castle Town. Link and Zelda departed from the Bar, but not before saying goodbye to Telma and Darmion.

As Link left the bar with Telma's words ringing in his mind.

"His study!? That boy hardly has room for himself in that place, how he expects to hold a meeting there is beyond me. Tell that bookworm that when the rest of the Guild arrives we will use my bar; I'll close it down for the day. It's the only place we all can meet." Telma said, adding a wink to let Link know she was just kidding about the bookworm comment.

Link and Zelda arrived at Shad's study roughly two hours before lunch. Link now realized why he had been adamant about the time. Already foot traffic was thick, it would only get worse as the day progressed on, peaking around lunch when people came to eat at the café's that dotted the west side of Castle Town. Link conveyed the message Telma left for him. Shad agreed to the use of her bar for further meetings, he would only have to inform her the day prior to his needing it. Telma wasn't mistaken; Shad's study had little accommodations for people. He had several plush armchairs a master bedroom, and the rest of his condo was overflowing with books. This explained how he had met Telma, he needed some where to eat, that was spacious, and such a place could make even an ant claustrophobic.

"What have you found out master scholar?" Zelda asked as she set herself into one of the armchairs.

"Please," He insisted "call me Shad; if we are to be adventuring together we shall do so as friends Princess. There will be no need for formalities."

"Fair enough, but I shall do so only if you return the favor, my name is Zelda."

He nodded, hoisting himself up a step stool and reaching into his shelf pulling out a thick green bound book. Handing it to Link, he took a chair himself.

"Here you are your highness." Link said handing her the hefty book.

She shot him a glance, continuing their playful banter. She looked at the cover, it was written in the old Hylian text, and few scholars could read the script. "This is old," she said matter-of-factly, "I can't read this."

"Few people can," Shad said. "I can't read it per say either, but I have spent sometime translating it into modern Hylian. And it's not old, it's ancient. It's one of the first books ever written, It is one of the few books that mention the Oocca, which is why I acquired it.."

Shad explained how this book was the original manuscript of the ancient sage and historian Mudora. It was started long before the Imprisoning war took place. He was an ancient priest, in service to the Goddesses. He along with six other ancient priests of whom were given the title of Sages. He was of the Sheikah tribe, and well versed in magic. He was given the title of Sage of Shadow. He had a love for history, using his magical abilities he enchanted to book to keep recording key events in Hyrule's history after his death. The book itself was forged by his friend and other well known sage Rauru the Sage of Light.

"The book details the creation story of Hyrule by the three Goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru. Which everyone is familiar with. What we are interested in probably begins in his lifetime, the Civil war of Hyrule and the aftermath of the Imprisoning war." Shad continued. Shad resumed translation of the text and soon his rich narrative overtook the youth's senses, his voice fading away, and they felt as if they were watching the history of Hyrule, as the Goddesses themselves must have witnessed it. Both were unsure whether this was due to an incantation on this ancient book or if it was the mystique of Shad's mastery of storytelling. Soon they all were transported into the imagery of their Realm's past experiencing it as if it were as real as the time they lived in now.


	4. Chapter 4: The Formation of Hyrule

Mudora was part of the Sheikah tribe of the second generation of Hylians created. The first generation was fully autonomous adults that were introduced upon the newly created realm of Hyrule. Not too long after the Goddess departed the different races of Hyrule started creating their societies. Soon children followed, it was in this generation that the Sages were born. Mudora's family raised their decided that they should offer up their first child to the Goddesses as tribute for their creation of the realm. Mudora was to be a priest to the Goddesses. Six other children at birth were also given this honor, one of which was a neighbor boy, and friend of Mudora, his name was Rauru.

Even from a young age Rauru had a great talent as a craftsman. He would whittle away wood and create elaborate patterns, or use clay to make exquisite figurines. His skills later would be used in creating the first temple to honor the Goddesses. Mudora own skill came from his race's natural abilities at magic; his enchantments were the most powerful longest lasting of any the world had ever seen. His love of lore would inspire him to write down the history of Hyrule, from creation, until the end of time, later in his life.

When the seven children had grown up, they became Sages of the land. Studying the philosophies of the Goddesses, they became the primal source for wisdom and justice, that helped Hyrule and all of her peoples flourish in its infancy. Hyrule remained at peace and prospered for many generations. The land knew no death until a man named Emagi, from the first generation, turned wicked and killed another inhabitant of the realm. The Realm was thrown into an uproar, the Oocca so disgusted by the act, removed themselves from the land choosing to live in the sky. No one knew what to do, so the Sages lamented to the Goddesses.

The Goddesses heard the cries of their people and sent them the first deities of the land. These were the messengers of the Goddesses, three of them were sent to put an end to the civil unrest of the populace, and present the Sage's with a gift. One was a giant plant like man known as the Great Deku Tree representing Farore. The other was a giant fish-like creature called Jabun whom the Zora affectingly would come to refer to as Lord Jabu-Jabu representing Nayru. In the ancient Zora tongue Jabu-Jabu meant father (literally thought to be translated as Da-da, which is how Hylian infants would address their fathers, and assumed that the Zora did so in a similar fashion). The final deity was a large reptilian-like creature who could fly in the sky and breathe fire he was called Valoo he represented Din.

These deities presented the Sages with a weapon forged by the Goddess themselves, it was known as the Sword of Light. With this divine weapon, the Sages would have authority behind their judgments as a council, concerning all matters. It was also a pure blade, and no blemish would appear upon the soul of its wielder when their judgments demanded death. No blemish would appear on the land when the felled being was executed, they would vanish into particles of light. The Sages used this tool to deal with Emagi.

Emagi's sin, had unleashed darkness into the world. Death spread like a plague across the land. Even after the Blade of Justice, the Sword of Light, dealt with him, evil still lurked in the land. False deities appeared, creating twisted versions of the Goddesses creations. Giving rise to such creatures as the Skull Kids, Bulbins, Stalfos, Poes, the Octorok and many others. One such false deity was Volvagia, a twisted mirror image of Valoo, who plagued the Gorons for many years. The presence of Volvagia took a long time to deal with. The three true deities were traveling the land restoring peace, and taking up their mantle as guardian spirits for certain races: the Deku Tree for the Kokiri, Jabun for the Zora, and finally Valoo for the Gorons. The three Goddesses each took a tribe from the Hominid race, Farore represented the Hylians, Din the Gerudo, and Nayru the Sheikah. By the time Valoo arrived at his roost atop Death Mountain, after helping establish the sanctuaries for his brethren deities, Volvagia had caused much devastation among the Gorons. A hero Goron called who became known as Biggoron fought the beast with a weapon forged by himself known as the Megaton Hammer. With Valoo's assistance he was able to defeat the deity. Valoo bestowed great size to the Goron who needed a body to match the courage which dwelt within it, for he had single handedly taken up the responsibility to face a foe that would surely defeat him. All of his descendants would retain his great size and mastery of metallurgy as a sign of honor for what he had done for his race.

After sin entered the world, the Seven Sages constructed a temple around the point in which the Goddesses left the realm, leaving behind the sacred Triforce. Sealing the Triforce in a dimension they called the Sacred Realm, believing that the mere shadowy reflection of the Goddesses' true power that they left in Hyrule was too powerful for any one being to command. They also believed that it was too powerful for any one race to hold the key to such a power. So Rauru was commissioned to design three Spiritual Stones that would act as keys to unlock the seal on the Triforce if ever there was a great need of its power. Each stone would represent one of the Goddesses one for Din, to be entrusted into the Goron's care called Goron's Ruby. Farore was represented by the Kokiri Emerald, and Nayru was presented as the Zora's Sapphire.

The Hominid races were given a Magical Ocarina, known as the Ocarina of Time. This was to represent the newly created Goddess of Time. A Goddess only in name, no such deity existed, but since death entered the world, all things had begun to age, and the passage of what later became known as time had begun. Used in conjunction with the tree stones it brought the holder to the final key: the newly Forged Master Sword. Inspired to create a weapon similar to the one the Goddesses bestowed upon the Sages they created the first moral sword. Rauru forged this sword with the help of the three guardian deities, the guardians were able to strip a sliver of the Sword of Light, and help fuse it to the metal that would become the blade. Mudora used his powerful enchantments to magically fuse the together, making the sword the Blade of Evil's Bane, only a pure heart could wield this blade, and it would smite any evil it encountered. This Sword would be the final key to the Sacred Realm. The wielder of this weapon, had no predetermined race, it would randomly be assigned to which ever race was able to pull it from its pedestal in the Realm's time of need.

Time passed and peace persisted for many years, it became like the time before Emagi's corruption of the world. Soon the Sword of Light was lost, due to lack of use, and the Sages became very old. Before their deaths they decided that one of them should remain inside the sacred realm, awaiting a day when it should b open, to guide whom ever sought the Triforce's power. The honor was given to Rauru, who was the architect of what became known as the Temple of Time. Mudora put a powerful enchantment on the sealed room, allowing no time to pass for Rauru, until the door would be open, his body would be preserved. Rauru's astral form could still roam outside the temple, but his body was sealed inside. Once he was done with the enchantment Mudora died, having exhausted his body. The Goddesses seeing the Sages devotion to them granted the Seven Wise ones eternal life, as astral beings, once their physical bodies died, their astral beings were transported into the Sacred Realm. When the Seal would be broken, the Sages spirits would fuse to a corporal being, which would allow them to perform special functions as well as act as a conduit through which the Sages power could be channeled. The Goddesses assigned each of the Sages an element after their demise; Mudora was given the title of Sage of Shadows, due to his mastery of magic, as well as his close relationship with Rauru the Sage of Light. After the last Sage died, peace endured for a thousand years. Peace was soon destroyed in the deadliest clash ever recorded in the history of Hyrule: the Hyrulean Civil War.


	5. Chapter 5: War

A new tribe of adept magical beings consisting mainly of the Tribes of Sheikah and Hylian Sorcerers started perfecting their magical arts. Because of their magical prowess this new tribe began to receive the same exaltation as the Sages before them. Their knowledge and abilities allowed them to intervene with others affairs, righting wrongs. These people began calling themselves the Interlopers due to their deeds. However they became greedy, wanting more than the exalted position of the Sages, of old, they wanted to very prestige of the Goddesses. Knowing the rhyme that all those who dwell in Hyrule know:

_In a realm beyond sight,  
The sky shines gold, not blue,  
There, the Triforce's might  
Makes mortal dreams come true_

They sought to make the power of the Triforce theirs. Knowing that the Sages were Wise enough to disperse the keys to the Triforce the Interlopers began waging war with all the races to obtain the items they needed. They never made any demands, they just killed an pillaged, hoping to find what they needed, not wanting to let the rest of the population know what they were after, lest they try and obtain it for themselves. This is when they became the infamous Dark Interlopers.

The Dark Interlopers were clever, they staged attacks on all the races, making it seem as though others were doing it. This is the origin of the long standing distrust the Gorons had for the Zoras. With their position of power they goaded on the races to retaliate. Soon all of Hyrulean races were engulfed in chaos. Many Kokiri marched to battle in the beginning of the war, having been singled out due to their small stature and possession of the Emerald Spirit stone. They almost fought themselves out of existence, before the Great Deku Tree intervened; sealing off Kokiri forest, not allowing them to leave. Their involvement with the war, and the world ceased, until years later when the Imprisoning war took place.

It was then that Daphnes Nohansen of the Hylian tribe realized the Interlopers were behind the whole war. He started rallying other races to side with him, to engage the Dark Interlopers. Rallied under one banner the Hyrulean races were starting to gain a foot hold over the Dark Interlopers. Many races objected to the inclusion of the Sheikah tribe in the coalition, due to the large make up of Sheikah in the Dark Interloper tribe. Daphnes swore by them, they were among the fiercest and most loyal soldiers he had. He felt they had something to prove and tried to make up for what their wayward brethren were doing. With his second in command Bellerophon, the most skilled swordsman and most powerful Hylian Knight, they won battle against battle.

The Dark Interlopers began to get desperate, hiring out the mercenary armies of the Bulbins, Stalfos and other beings. This is when the started conglomerating their magical powers into their new super weapon known as the Fused Shadow.

The war seemed to be going in the favor of the coalition and they praised the Goddesses. The Dark Interlopers were scared, hiding out in small pockets in the fields of Hyrule. Many thought the war was over. Not only were the Interlopers hanging on my mere threads, the two greatest heroes of the war, Bellerophon and Daphnes, were about to become fathers. The coalition was joyful, and celebrated their premature victory. Months later the Dark Interlopers began to reappear in great number; squashing out the scouting troops of the coalition. Worried about their chances of success Bellerophon leads an army to meet the gathering forces. New hope swelled through the Hyrulean tribes, their greatest warrior would put an end to this war once and for all.

The two armies came to do battle on the field of Hyrule, both in great number. At first the Hyrulean coalition was dominating the feeling, restoring the morale among all the men. Then he appeared, a Dark Interloper who was wearing a helmet forged of steel and magic, known as the Fused Shadow. He became a monstrous beast towering over all the troops. The Dark Interloper parted in front of him, allowing him to engage in the battle. The Fused Shadow's many arms held massive weapons. His many weapons smiting dozens of Hyrulean while each swing, hurtling their bodies' dozens of yards. The only known soldier to survive a blow was Biggoron; he landed one blow with his Megaton Hammer before being sent a hundred feet through the air, landing in a heap.

Bellerophon's troops began getting nervous and talk of retreat was on the breaths of all his men. Bellerophon stepped forward and engaged the beast himself, not even the mighty Biggoron preformed such a feat. Bellerophon's battle with the Fused Shadow was long and drawn out. Bellerophon dealt some damage to the Fused Shadow, but not enough, and soon he was tired and weakened. The Fused Shadow crushed him, killing the Hyrulean army's hero. The final blow to Bellerophon sent huge shockwave across the land. All the soldiers from the Hyrulean army were killed, only Biggoron was allowed to leave to warn the others about the coming death. Biggoron stood his ground and continued to fight; he was thrown towards the base camp of the Hyruleans after refusing to leave his commander the fallen Bellerophon.

Daphnes couldn't believe the news Biggoron relayed. It couldn't have come at a worse time for the Hylian leader, his wife Tetra just had died delivering his infant daughter Zelda. He had just lost his wife and his best friend. Bellerophon's wife upon hearing the news became so stressed she too delivered her child a boy. The village in which she was staying was sacked by the Dark Interlopers soon after she had given birth. All who had been in the village were slaughtered. There were rumors that his wife fled towards the Kokiri Forest seeking the sanctuary the Great Deku Tree provided, but they were just rumors. Just when all hope seemed lost, their hero and his family slain, their King defeated, a figure from the East approached. It was the other beloved hero of the war Gerudo King Ganondorf.

His sovereign nation of the Gerudo people was hardly affected by the Dark Interlopers attacks. The Gerudo's were fairly isolated from the rest of Hyrule at the time of the out break of the war. The tribe consisting only of women only ventured out to the rest of Hyrule to find a husband. Most Gerudo women abandon their husbands soon after conceiving a child to return back to their tribe, though some stay and integrate themselves into their husband's society. Upon learning of the destructive wave that would swallow all of Hyrule Ganondorf set off to join forces with the Hyrulean coalition. He wanted to unite all of Hyrule and rule Hyrule as its king, which was impossible if the Dark Interlopers destroyed it all.

Ganondorf's army was full of skilled swordswomen, and he was an accomplished practitioner of magic as well as the martial arts, he was ruthless on the field of battle causing some of his own men to shy away from him. With his help, hope was starting to spread its seeds among the coalition. He was soon the cause of several key victories; he was a fast rising star in the Hyrulean coalition, winning great favor of Delphos. He soon took up the mantle of Bellerophon, becoming another hero of legend. However the war machine that is the Fused Shadow still remained undefeated, obliterating every army that stood in its way. Soon it would make its way to the coalition's base camp and crush all opposition.

The terrible news of the Fused Shadow reached the ears of the three deities. They feared that the power of the Fused Shadow could forcible remove the Triforce from its holding ground. If that were to occur the deities knew that they would be defeated, the fraction of the Goddesses power that the Triforce contained was more than a match for them. The Great Deku Tree was occupied keeping the Kokiri save from being invaded and wiped out by the Dark Interlopers, While Jabun isolated to the sea, kept the war land based by making the seas impassible. He also slowed down the Fused Shadow's progression by plaguing the Dark Interlopers with unfavorable weather. It was decided that Valoo would have to directly interfere with the next battle, to ensure the destruction of the Fused Shadow.

On his proud stallion Ganondorf lead rode out to meet the approaching Fused Shadow, which mirrored Bellerophon's last stand eerily. However Ganondorf commanded a larger army than Bellerophon had, and his charge wasn't to act as wall to take the brunt of an attack, it was to strike quickly and flee. The plan was with enough of the hit and run attacks, the army of the Fused Shadow would be delayed by treating the injured and repairing their various war machines. The plan was to have Biggoron and King Zora stage the main attack, drawing all the fire, while Ganondorf's troops flanked them.

It was a good plan both Biggoron and King Zora had more experience than Ganondorf and his troops. Biggoron and King Zora had fought together countless times under Bellerophon, and worked efficiently as a team. King Zora's name was his honorary title, much like the first Biggoron's, deriving from having the most athletic prowess of his race, earning him the patriarchy, making him the Zora's champion: King of the Zora's, or King Zora for short. Clad in his eloquently crafted armor, made by the best artisans of Zora's Domain, he was a force to reckon with. Carrying an unorthodox arsenal of weapons a elaborate sword, his boomerang his favored weapon, and a strange device known as a long-shot, which had seldom been used, though he claimed it made him fly across the field, and would be at Biggoron's side if his friend was ever in danger.

The battle proceeded as planned; all was going well until Ganondorf's surprise attack. The Dark Interlopers must have figured out the Gerudo King's strategy for his troops were soon over run. Ganondorf fought valiantly, swinging his monstrous sword, which dwarfed him, and he was a giant of a man. He dispatched over twenty men single handedly using a combination of his sword and his magic, but he grew tired and was soon approached by the Fused Shadow. Biggoron's eyes flashed over at Ganondorf, it was just like that battle that had taken his friend's life. Though he didn't like Ganondorf much he didn't wish him dead. It would be all over soon, if they lost his battle, the coalition was done for. Biggoron called for King Zora, who arrived in a flash via his long-shot, by shooting it onto Biggoron's backside. The two brave warriors charged towards the Fused Shadow hoping to deter him from killing the Gerudo King.

Before they could reach Fused Shadow, he swung a death blow downward to land upon Ganondorf's head. He was going to die the same way his predecessor had. A split-second before being pounded into the ground like a nail, Valoo collided with the Fused Shadow, sending both the behemoths tumbling across the battlefield crushing dozens of Dark Interlopers and Hyrulean troops. A frightful battle between the two giants began, one which King Zora and Biggoron do not wish to discuss. Valoo threw hammer blows from his fists and tail, while belching fire upon the beast of steel and magic. Valoo too was punished for his efforts, receiving many powerful blows in return of the ones he gave. Valoo was able to land on top of the Fused Shadow, pinning him to the ground. He tried to tear apart the pieces of steel that were fused together, engulfing the being with fire all the while, hoping to fracture the armor and roast the creature inside. His efforts were in vain he was only able to create a hair line fracture in the Fused Shadow before being tossed aside.

Valoo did manage to by the Hyrulean army some time, in their distracted state, the Hyrulean army decimated a third of the Dark Interlopers gathered army before fleeing, back towards their base camp, leaving Valoo to fend for himself. Biggoron, objected to leaving his guardian deity to fend for himself, but he had to follow his commanding officers order to flee. As they fled Biggoron could hear the cries of Valoo, as he was slowly being bested by the evil being. Both champions were heavily wounded, and Valoo began to flee with the rest of his army, gravely wounded. He didn't make it very far on his own; he was saved by the mutinous Biggoron who came back to rescue his guardian deity. Biggoron carried Valoo back to the base camp while King Zora tended while Jabun covered their trail with horrendous weather.

The Goddesses seeing the destructive power of the Fused Shadow had no choice but to interfere. They sent four Spirits of Light; Ordona, Faron, Eldin and Lanayru, to destroy the weaken Fused Shadow. Arriving in Hyrule, they Sealed Valoo inside the peak of Death Mountain, so his wounds would heal. It would be many years until he was strong enough to break free of his healing confines. They then proceeded to tear apart the Fused Shadow into four pieces, scattering them about the land. They then banished a majority of these Dark Interlopers into the newly created Realm that mirrored their Dark hearts. Some Dark Interlopers escaped, causing subsequent smaller battles to round them up and banish them through the Mirror of Twilight.

Ganondorf was instrumental in rounding up the remnant troops of the Dark Interlopers. It is also where he learned of their true intentions to steal the Triforce and become like the Goddesses themselves, subverting all other tribes under their power. He learned of the five keys to the Sacred Realm and where they were held.

After the war was over, and all the remnants banished, the Light Spirits retreated to shrines in their respected provinces of Hyrule to help maintain peace. The Citizens of Hyrule created a new government, establishing Daphnes Nohansen as King of all of Hyrule, making his lineage the Royal family. Due to his righteous deeds during the Civil war the Ocarina of Time and its magical melodies were entrusted to the Royal Family. He built a stronghold around the Temple of Time to protect it from any possible future attacks, created a city inside the Castle, to create a central hub for trade, building up the infrastructure to a newly united Hyrule. The Citizens then threw a party that lasted a month.

Nabooru, the younger sister of Ganondorf, warned the King, that Ganondorf, had hoped to achieve Daphnes' title, and was ambitious enough that he may try and take it. The King took no heed to what the young maiden said. Ganondorf was a hero and a friend, and it was common in royal families to try and subvert ones own siblings to rise to power, it was sad to learn that his friend's own kin would treat a hero in such a way.

"Nabooru," He said, "Now is not the time for war; any good general knows there is a time to fight and a time to heal, and a time to celebrate. Ganondorf is a good general and a good friend he will rejoice in our shared victory, everyone knows he was instrumental to Hyrule's creation as a state."

_Perhaps he is right_ thought Nabooru; _maybe Ganondorf will accept this in time_. King Daphnes turned out to be wrong, within a year of the formation of Hyrule, Ganondorf withdrew the Gerudo tribe its membership to the Hyrule kingdom. He would not return to pledge his alliance again, for another ten years, and he would do so with dark intent.

It was at this time that Bellerophon's son, who escaped certain doom with his dying mother into the Forest of the Kokiri, would become the Hero of Time and thwart Ganondorf's evil plan.

Thus begins the most well known story in all of Hyrule, the Imprisoning war, where Ganondorf unleashes the power of the Triforce and sacks all of Hyrule. The ancient sages are released from their seal each entering a corporal being to aid the Hero of Time. The Princess Zelda serving as the vessel for the Sage of Time; Saria, the Kokiri and confidant of the Hero of Time, the Sage of Forest; Darunia, Patriarch of the Gorons, Sage of Fire; Princess Ruto, daughter of King Zora, Sage of Water; Impa, Sheikah adoptive mother and nursemaid of Zelda, Sage of Shadow; Nabooru, Gerudo Princess and sister of Ganondorf, Sage of Spirit, and Rauru serving as the Sage of Light.

The Hero of Time is able to travel through time and usurp Ganondorf's Hyrule of the future, and come back and prevent him from sacking Hyrule castle in the first place. He does this by proving Ganondorf's treachery, with the keys to the Sacred Realm and knowledge he cannot possible know unless his story is true. Confirming the prophetic visions Zelda had. The King, still uncertain whether the Hero of Time is telling the truth, asks Ganondorf kindly to disarm, and remain under supervision while he sorts out the matter. Ganondorf becoming infuriated that all his years of planning were foiled by a young boy and his fairy, launches his attack on Hyrule castle prematurely, causing his hostile take over to be easily defeated. He and his small Gerudo raiding party are jailed, and Nabooru becomes the matriarch of the Gerudo thieves, joining the commonwealth of Hyrule once again.

Ganondorf however remains a powerful threat, since the Hero of Time still possesses the Triforce of Courage, and Zelda the Triforce of Wisdom, from their adventures through time. Ganondorf still has a limited access to the Triforce of Power. Though he cannot yet activate it. Daphnes order the Gerudo Spirit Temple Transformed into a prison to hold Ganondorf while he awaits his trial by the Arbiter's council of the Ancient Sages. It would be a long process since the Sword of Light had long ago been misplaced. The Hero of Time went off to locate it with his fairy Navi. Navi had discovered the Sages' ancient sword, but disappeared, the Hero of Time went in search of her passing into the parallel Realm known as Termina. The adventures of the Hero of Time in Termina are recorded elsewhere since this book only contains the history of Hyrule. Upon exiting the realm of Termina the Hero of Time is able to reunite with his fairy Navi and retrieve the blade which was lost between the two worlds.

Upon receiving the blade a few years after Ganondorf's imprisonment the Ancient Sages are able to manifest their astral forms, with out the aid of corporal beings. They judge that Ganondorf sentence shall be death. Upon sentencing pricing him with the Sword of Light, the Triforce of Power activated inside him saving him from certain death. Removing the blade that plunged into his chest, he dispelled the Sage of Water, returning his spirit to the Sacred Realm. Because the Triforce of Courage became activated we had to act hastily, we opened up the Mirror of Twilight, and banished him to the Twilight Realm to avoid a repeat of the Imprisoning war. Wounded the way he was and being sent to the Twilight Realm he could only become a shell, becoming a mere specter in their world.

"And the rest is history." Shad's voice said dissolving the illusion that had engulfed the three Hylians. Of course they knew the Sage's underestimated the power of the Triforce of Power, and Ganondorf was able to heal and escape using Zant as a vessel much as they used the Sage's from the Imprisoning war as a vessel. Once in the Realm of Light, Ganondorf was able to fully realize his power.

"Now we know where the Mirror of Twilight came from, and perhaps we can find a way to remake it." Zelda said.

"Tomorrow we shall set off for the Shrine of Lanayru." Link stated, "Tonight we rest, for it is already late."

"Or early." Zelda pointed out


	6. The Commissioning of the Mirror

_ Link motioned for her to come closer, but try as she might she moved in slow-motion. 'Hurry' he pleaded, while hordes of Bulbins descended to their position. They had been reckless, their attempt to save Midna was too rash, their Alliance of the Triforce, had been overconfident. They were broken half of their force killed before signaling the retreat. How she fell behind the group always remained a mystery to Zelda, but she wasn't alone, Midna was there with her. They approached the chasm that separated them from Link. A Crater Hellion, a serpentine beast of the Twilight Realm, snake like head erupted from the lava, had emerged from the lake of lava bringing one of its massive tentacles down upon a stone arch which Link and the rest of the Alliance had crossed, cutting off their path to the rest of the group. The beast had been momentarily distracted, by both the approaching Bulbins, and arrow fire coming from behind Link. They approached the ledge of the chasm, a few more steps then they would need to jump. A flash of red past before their eyes, a lava laden tentacle descended in front of them crashing into the broken bridge they were crossing. Bits of cool black rock exploded out from the impact, red droplets of molten lava rained down upon Zelda, burning little holes through the hem of her dress. They leapt prematurely to compensate for the lack of ground beneath their feet. As soon as Zelda left the ground, she could see they weren't going to make it. Slowly they approached the other side of the bridge, but they were too low. Stretching as much as she could she reached for Link, but his hands already firmly gripped Midna's. Zelda fell towards her fiery death._

Zelda sat up abruptly waking herself from her nightmare, she was drenched in sweat, her hands shot back to support her uplifted torso, plunging her hands into the hot moisture. She tried to calm herself; it was just a dream after all. But she couldn't lie to herself, she had dreams like this before, it was like when she felt the summons from Midna, and those dreams had come to pass. It was a prophetic dream; the power of the Triforce of Wisdom was warning her of events to come. She put the image out of her mind; she couldn't do anything about that now. Right now she needed to focus on fixing the Mirror of Twilight. She arose from her bed, walking over to the basin of water splashing it into her face. She looked out the window, and noticed morning had already broken, she grabbed her clothes, and headed towards the guest chambers where Link was sleeping.

Zelda found Link, not in the guest chambers, but in the stables. He had slept on the hay, by Epona. The boy's bond with his steed must be unfathomable, or he just wanted something to remind him of home. She shook his shoulders waking the sleeping hero. Link looked up sleepily whipping the grit out of his eyes.

"Is it morning?" He asked lazily

Zelda nodded, it was technically morning, just the horizon ablaze with the rim of the sun, while the rest of the countryside continued to reside in darkness. Zelda walked over to Falhófnir her revered steed of legend. Loading up their saddlebags they set out on their journey to Lanayru Shrine. The two youths, soon found sleep in the rhythmic trotting of their mounts. Luckily Epona had been to the shrine at Lake Hylia, and led Falhófnir to their destination. The sun stared down upon the travelers from its high perch of noon, its intense heat awaking them. Dismounting from the horses, Link and Zelda wandered to the center of the shrine. Zelda tossed some incense and poured a flask of oil and Hylian ale into Lanayru's shrine as an offering, hoping the giant serpent would respond.

They didn't need to wait long; soon the giant serpent rose up from the water awaiting their petition. He spoke in a powerful and soft voice that filled the cave that made up his shrine.

_Hero of Twilight, and Princess of Hyrule, you have journeyed far. For what do I owe this honor?_

"The honor is all ours" responded Zelda. "We come to ask for assistance. We wish to commission you to reconstruct the Mirror of Twilight."

_The Spirits of Light, never could remake, what we never created. The Goddesses crafted the Mirror; we merely were the messengers that delivered it. If the Mirror of Twilight is truly destroyed, it can't be reforged._

"Then all is lost" Link lamented.

_Do not let your hope be so fleeting. The Mirror may be destroyed, but perhaps the Spirits of Light can forge a similar item, it would take all of us. And we would need you to gather supplies from all across Hyrule._

Lanayru continued to elaborate on his plans to create another pathway to the Twilight Realm. They needed to venture to several places to retrieve special items. Lanayru was certain that he and the other Spirits of Light could create the mirror; they would just need help from the Greater Deities. They were reassured that the deities would know what they needed to provide. They would also need to find an ancient marvel which had fallen into the hands of a collector, whose antiquities had recently been moved to the top of Snowpeak to a large mansion that was being remodeled into a museum.

The Hylians thanked Lanayru for his help, and headed back towards Castle Town to prepare for the subsequent journey to find the components of this new Mirror of Twilight. They entered Telma's bar finding Shad and Ashei; they walked over to their table.

"Well look whose here; the non-imposing princess and her lackey." Ashei snorted, chugging her mead. Whipping away the residue from her lips, she stared intently at Link. "Well messenger boy, what news do you bring us today, or are you just escorting her highness about her kingdom?"

A smirk appeared across Link's face; with all this formality he had been exposed to by staying at the castle it was nice to hear Ashei's bluntness.

"Well we had been given a decree to seek out several treasures, but it's probably too dangerous for the likes of you." Link informed her, in a playful tone. "Besides you wouldn't have been interested anyways."

Slamming her stein down upon the table she rose up so fast it sent her chair bounced across the room. Her arm shot out grabbing a handful of Link's tunic. She glared at him; Zelda was worried that she would start something in the bar.

"Danger you say?" Her voice quivered with what appeared to be excitement. "Brutal unrelenting danger, with death around ever corner? Whose darkness is so bleak it consumes your soul, filling it with terror and dread?"

Link pretended to ponder over her questions, nodding in response to each of them.

"Finally a battle worthy of a warrior's death! What took you so long to say so?" She practically shouted, "What in the Dark World are we sitting around here for? Let's go!"

"Please Ashei sit down," Shad urged. "You see what you have done Link, we'll never get her settled down now, you just had to say it didn't you? Just because you don't need to deal with her after you leave doesn't mean I don't have to. I'll never hear the end of it."

Zelda relayed what the Spirit of Light had told them. Intermittently between Ashei's outbursts of rage that "Shopping errands are not fraught with any danger", and how she would have Link's head for lying to her, Zelda filled them in on her plan. She had explained her dream communiqués she shared with Midna.

"Her forces are starting to mobilize and will soon try to secure strategic transportation routes, and forts. They however are outnumbered and in grave need of our help, she has few warriors among her loyal followers, most that escaped were castle servants, only about a dozen of her personal guard makes up her experienced fighting force. We must make haste if we are to ensure the safety of her kingdom and return her to the throne."

Shad pulled out the map the Adventurer's Guild used in their efforts to overthrow Zant, it was riddled with markings. Zelda reached out and marked each of the locations, through some sort of magic, the Guild needed to travel to in order to construct the new mirror.

"There are four locations, and there are four of us gathered here. To insure swiftness, I suggest that we split up and each of us travel to these locations and retrieve our needed items." Zelda explained.

Shad was the only one who looked uncomfortable with this, he was more of a scholar than a warrior, he was the tactician of the group and had only seen combat when they helped Link storm the castle, and even then he was surrounded by warriors. Link's hand rested upon Shad's shoulder to comfort him. In order not to embarrass him, he addressed Ashei, whose bravery and lust for combat were unmatched throughout Hyrule.

"Don't worry Ashei, this should be a simple task that even you can handle, it'll just be like borrowing sugar for baking, I'm sure even you won't be able to screw this up."

Ashei took it in stride, after introducing Link's left eye to her right fist, sending the youth across the floor, she informed him that she would be able to handle it. Zelda hoping to return attention back to the plan, and focus Ashei's attention elsewhere, she continued with her plan.

"Ashei, you'll be going up to Snowpeak due to your relationship with the Yeti, it should make acquiring what we need much simpler. Shad, you'll need to go to Goron City to see if you can determine the location of their guardian deity Valoo."

"Valoo?" Shad inquired. "He hasn't been seen since the Civil War, it was likely he perished while fighting the Fused Shadow, it would certainly explain the lack of his presence during the Twili Invasion. But I'll see what I can find out."

"Link will go to Zora's domain he is in good standing with Prince Ralis, he will do anything for you, and I know he'll help you find Jabun. I will head to the lost woods to see if I can find the mythical Kokiri village, and the Great Deku Tree."

"Fool's errands." Spit Ashei, "seeking two mythical beings, well at least my time won't be wasted." Slapping Shad on the back, she let them know she was heading out.

"We shall all meet back here in a week," Shad explained. "I shall write the rest of the guild to meet us here. I will see you then, hopefully we shall be as swift as Farore, I shall try to get Telma to close the Bar down for all of us."

With that it was just Link and Zelda alone in the bar. They headed out towards their horses, to return to the castle where they would prepare for their next step in the journey. Link's hand caught Zelda's shoulder.

"I think I should go to Faron Woods, the Lost Woods that it contains are more dangerous that you realize. I think it would be better if you went to Zora's domain to retrieve Jabun's item."

"Why? Cause I am a princess? I don't see you worried about Ashei."

"Well… she …" He began

"What, she can take care of herself? Is that it? Am I just a burden to this Guild? I don't remember you complaining when I helped you take down Ganondorf, I can take care of myself in ways you couldn't possibly comprehend."

With that she took off with Falhófnir leaving Link there with only his own thoughts.

"Don't beat yourself up too much Hun." Telma's familiar voice said. "She knows you're just looking out for her, she just wants to show you she doesn't need a knight in shinning armor all the time. You'd better hurry along, unless you want to sleep outside the castle again." Winking at Link she turned back to cleaning the bar top. "Oh yeah she added, you'd better be back here in a week, or I'll find you lament to the Goddesses to bring you back to life and then kill you again for being so stupid, now get out of here before I throw you out."

Saddling up on Epona, Link raced to catch up to Zelda. Though he was happy to be back among his friends, he missed the simplicity of his hometown, the city was always so full of drama.


	7. Chapter 7: Mountain Mission

It had taken Shad a while to reach Kakariko Village at the foot of Death Mountain. It was a rough trip and the Scholar wasn't used to traveling so lightly, and with weapon that looked like a mace suited for a Goron warrior. Upon arriving at the village Shad rested at his friend Renado's house, he also used this opportunity to meet with the rest of the villagers and gather what information he could. He was able to gather some information from Impaz, the last surviving Sheikah of this realm, on the Dominion Rod. The old woman informed him that the Rod contained mystical powers, and could do far more than just control statues. She was able to activate a power in the gigantic rod that caused it to scale down to a Hylian sized weapon, which he could now easily wield. It was never a heavy weapon despite its cumbering looks; it just was awkward due to its size. Shad let out a sigh, he was glad to have a weapon that he could now wield, but having a suitable weapon made him realize that he would be engaging in combat soon.

Shad was able to distract his mind from thoughts of combat by listening to Impaz tell him about the history of the Sheikah, and its splinter group which later formed the Dark Interlopers. He would have to return to Kakariko Village after his journey to the Twilight Realm, and learn more about the disappearing race of the Sheikah. Shad wished he could have stayed longer, but he had already taken too much liberty in leisure time, and had to continue on his quest. Thanking Renado for his hospitality, he left the village to ascend the mountain.

It didn't take him too long before he started passing through areas densely populated with Gorons. He soon wondered how he would ever get to meet with a Goron Elder in time. Luckily for him, he wouldn't need to wait long.

"Shad?" a voice asked.

Looking around Shad spotted the source of the call; it was from a female Goron, though he himself couldn't tell the difference between the genders of Gorons, it was one he knew. It was Tarmian, the mate of Darmion the bouncer at Telma's bar, she was with their young son Darunia, named after the ancient Goron who aided the Hero of Time. She bounded over and hugged Shad.

"What brings you here to Goron City? Darmion won't be up this way for another month." She stated inferring his reason for the visit.

"Actually I have come to talk to one of the Elders here." He answered, "But I don't know how to find them."

"Don't worry Brother; I will take care of everything." Tarmian said.

Tarmian not only helped Shad navigate his way through Goron City, but she actually was able to get him an audience with on of the Goron Elders Gor Coron, a good friend of her father.

Shad wore the Dominion Rod to the meeting with the Elder, hoping that it would lend credence to himself if he appeared as a warrior. Gor Coron wasted no time, as soon as he entered the chamber he began asking Shad questions.

"What is it I can do for you Brother?"

"I come on the behalf of Princess Zelda, and the Hero of Twilight, I was told that the Goron's know the whereabouts of the ancient deity Valoo, I wish to seek his help."

With the mention of his guardian deity, Gor Coron stopped pacing about the chamber and starred into Shad's eyes. Taking the letter with the official seal of the Royal Family from Shad, Gor Coron noted that he was a true messenger of the Royal Family and could be trusted.

"I owe much to Brother Link, but I can not defy the laws of the Gorons, I must gather the council of Elders to discuss the revelation of the Great Valoo's current location, please come back tomorrow."

The next day, after spending the night at Tarmian's place, Shad returned to the Elder's chambers, and was greeted by all four Elders of the Tribe as well as their Patriarch Darbus. Gor Coron, was the only one who spoke at the brief meeting.

"We have decided to tell you the location of Valoo, we however do not know of its location. Long ago, the Goron's gave the duty over to the Sky People; we knew they would keep his location safe. Here is a medallion of the Gorons, show it to them, and they will lead you to Valoo."

With that they all exited the chambers, leaving Shad, on yet another journey to complete. Shad was lucky Tarmian had some connections that allowed him to get a trip to the City in the Sky, he was so excited he could hardly contain himself, he had researched the Oocca most of his adult life, and now he was going to meet them, he would probably be one of the first Hylians ever to set foot in their city. The trip to the city wasn't a pleasant one, it involved being shot out of a cannon, and miraculously landing in the city of legend, City in the Sky.

The town seemed rather abandoned, as if no one had lived in it for years, the structures were all old and rotted, some had even collapsed. Maybe the Oocca had gone extinct, surely such race that had been the first children of the Goddesses would never willingly let the luster of their town fade like this. He continued to wander around the city looking for signs of life. Just when he thought he wouldn't find any, he heard a bloodcurdling yelp from between his feet. He looked down, noticing he nearly stepped on a cucco, and he bent down and picked it up.

"Put me down!" the cucco cried.

Shad was so started he dropped the cucco, as he dropped it he realized that this creature was no cucco, for it had a Hylian head.

"This is the land of the Oocca," the cucco explained. "Hylians should not be here it is too dangerous … what is that you carry?"

Shad was in such bliss he didn't even hear what the Oocca had said, he had actually was visiting with beings thought to be extinct, he could learn so much of their history and technology, visions of becoming the curator of the Royal Family's Library flashed through his mind. They were only interrupted by the Oocca's persistence. "What is that you carry?" the bird asked indicating the Dominion Rod, which hung from Shad's belt.

Shad explained the weapon he carried and how he acquired it. The bird became ecstatic, his attitude about a Hylian being present in the City in the Sky completely changed, and he offered his services to Shad. "My name is Jatayu, I am a shopkeeper here, if there is anything I can do for you please let me know."

"Actually, I am looking for Valoo, the Goron Guardian Deity, I was told that the Oocca might now of something." He said displaying the medallion he was given.

"Once before we were asked by the Goron's to release Valoo, and aid the land of Hyrule during the Imprisoning war, we didn't oblige, and we didn't want to deal with the affairs of the land dwellers. We should have helped but we didn't, much of Hyrule has suffered through our inaction. If the Goron's need Valoo once again, we shall release him. I am the keeper of the key which will open the seal that holds Valoo in the healing chamber; I shall accompany you to Death Mountain."

Shad and Jatayu arrived at the second highest peak of Death Mountain. Jatayu had explained that the peak itself was actually Valoo himself buried beneath the surface and the key to opening the seal was an enchantment that is contained in the Dominion Rod. Jatayu had received the arcane knowledge to activate the Rod's other abilities, this knowledge had been passed down his family for generations. When Jatayu was done the Rod underwent a fundamental reconfiguration. The head of the mace changed shape taking on the appearance of a large domed sapphire.

"What am I supposed to do with this now?" Shad asked.

"Strike the ground with it." Jatayu suggested.

As Shad struck the ground a wave of ice spread beneath their feet covering the peak that they were standing upon. The ground began to fracture under their feet, Jatayu and Shad fled down the mountain to avoid the collapse of the peak. After sliding down the mountain Shad turned around to see the large head of a dragon breaking through the peak of the mountain. Valoo looked at Shad and spoke, though it took Shad a while to understand that he was in fact speaking ancient Hylian, and soon he was able to translate what was spoken.

"Thank you Hylian for releasing me from my seal. The Oocca have finally returned to free me after all these years, I was beginning to think they had forgotten me."

Upon seeing Jatayu Valoo said, "I see the Goddesses cursed you for leaving me here, buried beneath the mountain for so many years. I shall restore you to your former glory for reviving me; however the rest of your race will remain as they are."

Valoo grabbed Jatayu in his front paws and closed Jatayu in between them, upon opening them, Jatayu no longer was in the form of a small cucco-like man, and instead he was a giant Kargaroc-like bird. The Oocca were actually the ancient Hylian Thunderbird.

Jatayu would explain later to Shad that the Oocca used to all be what is referred to now as the Hylian Thunderbird, but do to the Oocca's betrayal during the Imprisoning War, the Goddesses punished them, giving them the look of the most pathetic bird in Hyrule. The Oocca used to be hailed by the Hylians, during the Civil War a flock of Oocca left the City in the Sky and aided King Daphnes; they were such fierce warriors that he immortalized them in his crest, holding up the sacred Triforce. The Goron's were so impressed with their bravery that they entrusted them with Valoo's seal, they had after all left the safety of their sky city to aid the land dwellers. Once they betrayed Hyrule they were punished, and in their current state they could no longer keep up their beloved City in the Sky, it would eventually rot away forcing the Oocca to live on the ground, in their hapless state, where the would have to rely on the kindness of others. Kindness the very thing the Oocca had denied the land-dwellers, they would have to hope they wouldn't be as cruel as they were.

"Oh Great Guardian Deity of the Gorons, I have come to you seeking an item to build a new Mirror of Twilight, the Light Spirits told me you had such an item."

Valoo sighed, obviously he knew something terrible was coming, and the creation of a new mirror would be a dangerous thing. He reached down into the crater that contained him, and presented Shad with a small slab of Magnite, a rare metal that was rumored to be so durable it could even withstand magic.

Jatayu also addressed the deity. "Great Valoo, I wish to accompany this Hylian on this journey to the Twilight Realm, I plead that this act will restore your favor to my race."

"If you are successful in your quest," Valoo answered, "you will have proven that your race has not forgotten the valor it once possessed."

The two thanked the deity for all of his help, and descended down Death Mountain. Shad rode upon Jatayu, brandishing his magic mace, contemplating the adventure he was about to embark upon, and wondering how the others were doing with their quests.

The icy wind stabbed at her face, the only exposed skin Ashei had. She was covered with several furs from head to foot. Luckily she was close to the top of Snowpeak, which meant she soon would be in the ruins of the mansion that was built there. Yeta opened the door and greeted her with her usual broken Hylian. _The hardest part of this expedition is going to be explaining what I am looking for_ Ashei thought with grim disappointment. Yeta grabbed and picked Ashei up from the ground swinging her into the mansion, slamming the door behind them. This was the first time that Ashei had seen Yeta without her sweater on, _She must be feeling better if she isn't wearing it_ she thought.

"Yeto not home, me make food." Yeta explained.

During the course of the meal, of some unknown beast, Ashei described the item she hoped she would be able to acquire. Yeta was a little disturbed by what Ashei wanted.

"I know what you want; it is glass, old glass, older than Hyrule. Made from Gerudo sand, it is flawless. Yeto like glass, he keep it safe, but you can take."

Yeta led Ashei through the mansion, to a door which led to a courtyard.

"Yeta, stay here." She explained to Ashei. Obviously there was something there that Yeta wanted to avoid. Ashei stepped out into the snowy courtyard, sliding her sword out of its sheath. The blade chimed as the steel was enveloped in the cold air. Ashei wished she had brought her furs; she was exposed to the elements. Not only was she vulnerable to the elements, but her flesh was unadorned by her armor as well, it would have rendered her hypothermic, if she wore it at Snowpeak. She only had a woolen clothing to serve as a protector.

It didn't take Ashei long to find out why Yeta didn't come out, the place was guarded by a Chilfose, a skeletal being whose bones were made of ice. Seeing her he brandished his wickedly curved sword and charged her. She dove out of the way of his swords arch, rolling through the snow. _That's cold_ she thought, reminding herself not to do that again, the snow had somehow found its way into her clothes, and she didn't need the extra distraction of cold crippling her while she fought this demon. She had only gotten up on one knee when the next saber strike came. He meant to split her from head to navel, she threw her sword up in time bracing the end of it with her other hand. His blade crashed upon the broad side of her sword sending a clang reverberation through her body. As his sword bounced off her blade, she swung at his legs hoping to amputate them. The sword didn't pass through his icy bones, instead it became logged in the legs crystalline ice structure. Unable to remove it before his counter attack came, she was forced to dive away, despite vowing not to do that anymore.

Getting up from the dive Ashei sprinted across the courtyard, looking for another weapon to use, all she had was a little dagger, she knew that would hardly hurt such a beast. The Chilfose pursued her, trapping her in a corner of the courtyard. He raised his blade for the final blow. In an act of shear desperation she threw the small dagger at his face. The blade struck true, lodging itself deep with in his left eye, causing him to howl in pain. His hands quickly flew to his face, to remove the dagger; he pressed upon his orbit hoping to suppress the pain that was emitted from his skull. In doing so he dropped his own sword. Wasting no time Ashei took up his sword swinging it in a wide arch which clove him from across from hip to shoulder. As the halves of the body hit the ground they melted away, leaving her sword and dagger behind. Sheathing her weapons Ashei approached a large chest, which she hoped contained what she was looking for, the Gerudo Glass. She was so overcome with excitement she completely forgot the cold. She could barely open the chest, she was so jittery. To her surprise she found an empty chest, filled with silken cloth. She frantically began rummaging through it, tossing the cloth aside, eventually coming to the bottom of the chest. She hoped that under the last piece of smooth cloth like the glass. She pulled off the cloth revealing a small ovular piece of glass, no larger than her two hands.

"This is it!" she cried out to know one. "This is all I came for. What a waste, no songs will ever be written about someone finding such a messily treasure."

She walked back into the mansion with a slight sniffle, _great_ she thought, _this is all I need, I'll probably be done in by a cold it would be a sad end to an even more pathetic adventure_. Yeta insisted that Ashei stay, and recover from her cold before going back down the mountain. _This won't be so bad,_ she thought, _besides its ok for a hero to be waited on, a few days of room service and warm beds will do me good._

"I'll stay a while Yeta, but only if you promise to make me that famous Reekfish soup."

"Oh yes, Yeta make, and you stay. And tell Yeta all about your journeys with Link."


	8. Chapter 8: Faron Forest

Racing through the pale of night, with mist splashing across his face Falhófnir galloped across the plains carrying a cloaked figure. The galloping stallion approached the edges of Faron Forest. Soon the vegetative growth of trees and shrubs became so thick that Falhófnir had to slow down to a walk, and the Lord of Horses soon found himself being lead through the forest by Zelda's hand. She had dismounted and was pulling his reigns, guiding him through the sleepy forest. She removed her bow from his saddle and carried it with her free hand. She slowly began to realize that she would have to leave her only companion behind. Hugging his face, she rested her head upon his muzzle.

"Falhófnir, I must go on alone now. Go back home, I'll call for you when I need you."

Falhófnir scrapped his foot as if to protest, but slowly he started making his way out of the forest. Zelda hoped he would head back to the castle, fearing that thieves may steal him or hungry forest creatures would devour him. Falhófnir wasn't afraid, he was the Lord of Horses he had no fear of thieves or bandits. Though Zelda never knew it, he waited at the edge of the forest until she returned.

Dropping the hood of her cloak she headed through the forest, her hands keep her bow ever primed, incase of an attack. The forest remained well lit, despite the fact that only the moon bathed it with its glow. The eeriness of the journey could be attributed to the dank and dark atmosphere, which was mostly due to the fact she arrived there at night during a rain storm. She should have waited until morning broke before venturing deep into the woods, but she wanted to prove herself, not just to Link, but to herself.

_A wise warrior wouldn't care what others thought; they would have waited for a more opportune time to enter such an enchanted forest_ she thought, kicking herself for being so foolish.

"Well there is no use complaining about it now." She said to no one in particular.

Day soon began to break making the forest appear friendlier; the only company she found walking along the paths of the forest was small game, hardly anything frightening or dangerous as Link claimed there would be. _Perhaps he was just saying that to make it seem as though I was doing something important_.

She saw something dart off into the deep of the woods, she tried to follow it, but it seemed as though her eyes couldn't stare into the deeper forest where it had gone, as if the very image was slippery. Her eyes kept passively wondering by the creatures heading. She didn't notice it right away, as though she was staring at it with her peripheral vision, but she knew she had found the entrance to the Lost Woods. _Someone must have enchanted it to keep people from stumbling upon the entrance to its sacred grove_ She thought.

Even though it was mid-day by the time she entered the Lost Woods, it was darker inside, like the Woods housed some evil. She assumed it was another enchantment meant to frighten off drifters and bandits, trying to use the place for a hideout. A loud snap of a twig rang out, Zelda wasted no time, pulling out an arrow and drawing her bow. A being was approaching from the thick brush. She tensed up, ready to release the arrow as soon as it broke through the brush. A small monkey exploded out form the bush with such ferocity that she almost loosed her arrow. The small animal obviously was frightened by what was on the other side of the brush. The monkey sprinted to Zelda sensing an aura of safety around her. _Well at least I won't be alone now._

She wasn't sure how, maybe the Triforce of Wisdom was working through her, but she eventually sensed that the monkey knew the way in which she was going. She soon followed the monkey into a large opening, which contained only a few gigantic trees. Their canopies completely blocking out the sky. It looked like a village had been constructed in the trees, long ago. Another rustle was heard; looking around Zelda noticed her monkey guide had disappeared. From the treetops descended a wooden scarecrow, crashing into the ground a dozen strides in front of her. Drawing back her bow she launched an arrow at it, the arrow tip sank deep into the scarecrows face. However this had no effect on the scarecrow he was now approaching faster. Drawing up another arrow, she used her powers to ignite the tip of the arrow with a magical fire. The arrow upon impacting with the scarecrow it burst into flames causing the creature to cry out before only his ashes remained.

"That wasn't so bad." She reassured herself. If this was all the forest had to offer she would be fine. She heard a dozen more crashes though out the woods. Sweeping her head around she found herself completely surrounded. She hadn't nearly enough arrows, and their numbers were far too great for her to hold off with swordsmanship alone. She shot another arrow into the closet scarecrow; again it seemed to have no effect. They took off in a sprint heading towards her, she wouldn't have enough time to load a new arrow, or draw her sword. They would be on top of her at any moment.

Feeling her magical powers flow through her, she formed the shape of a ball between her hands. Very quickly an intense heat was generated between her hands. The very air between her hands caught fire, and created a flaming ball to fill the void. The scarecrows leapt at her, she was almost in their grasp. Falling onto one knee to avoid the onslaught for just one more second, she drove her hand containing the fire ball into the Earth. Instantly an immense fireball grew out from the palm-sized one she created, encompassing her quickly and spreading its diameter to contain the base of the large tree over forty feet away. The blaze came to a halt right before hitting the tree, the fireball's wrath ceased, leaving Zelda standing unharmed, turning all of the scarecrows into mere ash instantaneously. The powerful spell known as Din's Fire, left the land intact, not devoiding the forest of life.

A trickle of sweat ran down Zelda's face, she had never expelled so much energy at once. She had to control the rage of Din's Fire to prevent it from scourging the woods and leaving only an ashen wasteland. Using her hands to support herself she caught her breath. If she was to use magic again, she would have to use it more sparingly, she couldn't be an effective fighter if she was always fatigued. She got up and started heading deeper into the forest, she soon spotted the monkey playing at the base of a huge secluded tree. Zelda underestimated the drain the spell had taken on her; she hadn't rested since she left on her journey. _How long ago was that?_ She wondered _a day, two?_ Her steps grew heavier, she leaned up against the giant tree, slowly sliding down upon her knees, and she leaned against its soft bark and fell asleep.

Zelda was awoken by the stirring of a gentle voice. "What brings such a fair maiden into my foreboding forest?"

She was started at first, but only at first. The fact that others were around surprised her, she couldn't believe other people were this deep in the woods. The man's voice was soothing, it reminded Zelda of when her grandfather used to set her on his lap and tell her fantastical stories, before putting her to bed. She felt no instinct to draw her bow.

"Sir, where are you? Please step out so I can see you." She responded.

"You're on top of me." He said with a chuckle.

Zelda jumped up, afraid she was crushing this poor old man, and she turned around to find just the tree she had slept against. The tree however was no mere tree; it had the face of a man. She had slept upon the Great Deku Tree.

"I'm so sorry." She began apologizing for using him as furniture.

"It's quite alright my dear," He insisted. "Now what brings you so deep into my forest?"

"Great Deku Tree, I was told by the Light Spirit Lanayru that you possessed an item that could be used to forge a new Mirror of Twilight, I was hoping to get it from you."

"Told you that, did he? This is unexpected, and unfortunate." He mumbled to himself. He seemed to drift into a trance, lost in his own sea of thoughts. Zelda was afraid he was going to turn into a normal tree and leave her alone.

"What happened to the Kokiri?" She asked desperately trying to start up a conversation. Looking around she could see no other signs of life, the little fairy children of legend were no where to be seen. His eyes met hers, they rolled away in sadness, and they starred straight ahead towards a bush. _Great _she thought _just rubbing more salt in the wounds, why don't I just start chopping him down now?_ The little ape that had led her though the forest burst from the bush, _perhaps he's saying they turned into monkeys?_ Before she could probe further, he started speaking.

"Long ago, when the land of Hyrule was at war, scores of my children went off into battle, only one returned, only to die at my feet. The Kokiri almost drove themselves into extinction fighting that war. I took his sword and shield and hid them away, and told my children that leaving the forest would cause them to die. We limped along for another ten years, this was when Ganondorf came, and he placed a curse on me, forcing me to send the Hero of Time out to aid the princess. People often now wonder how we know of the Hero of Time's deeds, after all none of the adventures of his adulthood came to pass. Time affects us spirits differently. We are more like outside observers watching a play; we see all events that take place, even if they are erased. All the Spirits knew what had happened and all the people the Sage's channeled their power through had memories as well. The people knew the Sages and Spirits to tell the truth, and that his how his story came to be recorded. However those events in his future didn't take place, but others did. Hyrule didn't have peace afterwards. Others challenged the throne, the power vacuum Ganondorf left, caused tribal warfare amongst his minions. These out bursts were not as serious as the Imprisoning War, but it took a while before the Hero of Time and his knights were able to ensure safety through out the entire kingdom. Though he held Kokiri Forest dear to his heart, we were located so far away; we were one of the hardest areas to secure. People remembered the forgotten Kokiri due to the stories of the Hero of Time, as well as interactions of the Kokiri with the other races, I no longer confined them to the forest. Soon however the Kokiri were exploited for their weakness of being the smallest of the known races, the Kokiri were again disappearing, and monsters sometimes entered the forest. I could only protect the ones that remained in the forest, and even then I couldn't hold off legions of the warring tribes myself. I called the Hero of Time to come back to the forest. He entrusted me with a powerful spell he received during his journeys from a powerful fairy. It was known as Farore's Wind. I used it to teleport the entire Kokiri forest, to its new location. I again secluded my children in the forest, and eventually they drifted into myth, people forgot about them and they remained safe."

He paused after his long ordeal and let the story sink in.

"The item you seek is that very power the Hero of Time gave me, I cannot give it up it is the only way for me to protect what is left of my children."

"But we must have it to complete the new mirror with out it the Twilight Realm will remain in great peril."

"We are safe here, no one will find us, and I intend to keep it that way." The Tree explained

"The Lost Woods remains hidden now, but you had thought that once before. You and your children didn't remain safe, even when you tried not to get involved, the war came to you. How long do you think the war will be contained in the Twilight Realm, how long before they figure out a way to get into our Realm? Their war is coming whether you like it or not, you'll be safe, but for how long? Maybe a few months or years, teleporting the forest around, but eventually war will come upon your doorstep and no place will be sacred. Their war on your domain will come. We have to meet this enemy head on and end this conflict before it escalates to a point where we can only observe, and no longer take action. I for one have done enough observing in my time, but perhaps that is all you Spirits do, so you don't care to intervene, regardless of who gets hurt. When this spills over into our Realm, more people will die besides the Kokiri, and then their lives will be wasted in vain. But this is my kingdom, and I would rather fight and die free, than live all the days of my life as a slave dying many years later in my bed praying to the Goddesses to let me go back and have just one more chance try and fight for our freedom."

"You speak with wisdom, Zelda Princess of Hyrule, but what you lack is experience, which I have seen. It is one thing to know what is right, and it is another to know it will fail and try it anyways. I love my children too much to send them off to fight and die in vain. That is why I cannot allow you have Farore's Wind."

"If you really loved your children, you'd let them choose for themselves." She said and began heading away from the Great Deku Tree. It seemed to be an eternity walking away from the Forest Deity, though she walked away, it was as if the ground never moved, she seemed to remain where she was. Time itself seemed to slow down, she felt as if she should have been out of the forest by the time he responded, but she was only a few feet away.

"Don't go Zelda," he sighed. "You'll be needing this if you are to help your friend, and save your kingdom."

A green orb materialized in front of the tree's face, hanging in the air. Zelda ran out to it, placing it gently into one of the pockets of her cloak.

"Thank you Great Deku Tree." She whispered embracing the Deity's trunk.

"You're not leaving yet? Are you?" the concerned tree asked.

"No it'll take the mirror some time to be constructed even when all the pieces are brought together."

"Where will you be until then?" He asked.

"In Castle Town, probably at Telma's Bar waiting for news upon the mirrors completion."

The Tree seemed to nod. Zelda squeezed the tree one more time, thanking him again for his help. She started off into the forest with a new found vigor.

"Visit me when you come back." He exclaimed as she headed out of the woods.

"Don't worry, I'll be back." She reassured him.

It wasn't long before she approached the outer edges of the Forest, She whistled for Falhófnir using her magical powers to amplify its call, letting him know where she was. She soon met him at the edge of the forest, mounting up on her steed; she flew back towards Hyrule Castle.


	9. Chapter 9: Hylian Hijinxs

Epona pawed at the ground, ripping up some turf. Link patted the mare's powerful neck; they were close to Zora's Domain, their journey would soon be over, and soon they would be off to the Twilight Realm. Link's mind drifted to thoughts about Midna, and their adventures together. Why had she left so abruptly? She didn't really bother to say goodbye. Link shook his head, he would be seeing her soon enough, now wasn't the time to dwell on such things, he should be focusing on the task at hand.

As Epona galloped onward, Link was reminded of his experience with the Twilight as it encompassed Hyrule. The Twilight acted as a barrier that he couldn't pass, at least in his human form. The Twilight altered him making him the noble beast, a wolf. The wolf form had been advantageous during his journeys through Hyrule, but he feared that going to the Twilight Realm would trap him, as well as his companions, in the form of beasts or worse. The Master Sword had protected him in the Twilight Realm, what would protect him now? Even if the Goddesses released the sword to him again, would it only shield him form the effects of the Twilight?

Link's thoughts were soon brushed aside as Epona strode up to the entrance of Zora's Domain; it had been a while since either of them had been here. Link had been too late to save Queen Rutela, but he had promised her he would keep an eye on her son Ralis.

The Prince had yet to be inaugurated as the new King; he would have to wait until he was at least 13 and accomplish a brave feat. All the Prince would do was daydream about completing some brave deed so he could consummate his kingship. He was overjoyed to hear that his friend Link, the Hero of Twilight was coming to his domain. Surely this would be his opportunity to prove himself to his people.

"Link," the Zora prince yelped, as he bound off his thrown towards the gallant youth. Ralis leapt up into Link's outstretched arms. "What brings you here?" He questioned. "Are you going on a perilous quest?" Link let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "No my young friend, I have come to check on how your kingdom is doing." He said setting the boy down, rubbing his head. "The Zoras remain strong," Ralis reported, "But I do not run the kingdom, I am not old enough, or experienced enough. The council of seven continues to look after the King's duties, until I can claim the throne."

Link noticed how much this had pained Ralis, and quickly changed the subject.

"I am looking to pay homage to your Guardian Deity the great Jabu-Jabu." The hero said using the Zora's name for Jabun. Ralis' eyes lit up at the thought, only Zora royalty were allowed to tend to Jabun, if Link were to go visit the deity, then he must accompany him. Link was uneasy after hearing that Ralis would have to accompany him to Jabun's sanctuary. Even though he was going to just visit the deity he understood that it was a long journey, and there was still a chance of danger. Link however was out of options and out of time, if he were to meet Jabun, he would have to go with the Prince and in accordance to the Prince's rules. Link reluctantly agreed to let Ralis join him on his adventure. Ralis was overjoyed; this was his opportunity to prove he could be King.

There was a send off party wishing the Prince good luck on his journey, Link was enjoying the celebration until a Zora pulled him aside and threatened to gut Link, if he didn't bring the Prince back safely.

Link garbed himself in the Zora Armor, an antic set of armor, supposedly fashioned for the Hero of Time, by the Zoras. It was coarse and worn; the copper alloy mail that lined his chest had started to fade to green. The copper alloy was high tempered, but it still left him more vulnerable than his other tunic. But the armor allowed him to breathe underwater as if he were a Zora himself. He would need this if he were to find Jabun's shrine.

Ralis had explained that the entrance to the shrine was hidden inside the Lakebed temple. So Link and Ralis had floated down the river into Lake Hylia. The Lakebed temple looked very different since the last time Link had been there, it was no longer overrun with monsters. It had been returned to its former glory. He noted that the Zoras had resumed their pilgrimages to the temple, it had returned as a place of worship.

Ralis led Link towards a statue of Nayru standing over the lakebed. The Zora believed that she had crafted them, giving them dominion over the seas. Link was shocked to see Ralis trying to topple the statue; however Link noticed that the statue was ingrained to a switch. He aided in moving the marble object. A loud click rang out indicating that the geared mechanism had released a lock. The floor in front of the statue began to sink downward creating a series of descending stairs revealing a hidden doorway beneath the statue. The doorway led to an underwater river that carried them out past the mainland of Hyrule towards the sea that surrounded it.

Jabun's shrine lay in Canderva Sea, which boarders Hyrule along its south east coast. Link and Ralis cautiously approached the Deity's Island stronghold.

"I haven't been her since before the war, I always went with Mom." Ralis said, his voice falling off after mentioning the Queen. Ralis swallowed the lump in his throat and continued on. "We always would come here together, to pay Lord Jabu-Jabu tribute and ask for his advice; we usually went once or twice a month to tell him what was happening around Hyrule." Ralis tried to continue, but sound ceased its flow from this mouth, only his lips moved. Link placed a hand on his shoulder. Obviously the boy had fond memories of spending time here with his mother. This would be hard for him; he had never made the journey alone.

Though the Isle of Jabun remained isolated and well hidden, Link couldn't help but fear that this sacred place too had felt the influence of Zant. Cautiously the two approached the Isle. Still feeling a chill down his spine, Link insisted on climbing a high cliff on the far side of the Isle to survey the whole area. Perched atop the cliff Link saw movement below. Taking out his Hawkeye Link focused on the figures below.

"Lizalfos," Link let the word slip out. He could hear Ralis stir at the name.  
"Those vile beings, they have no right to be here." Ralis' voice trailed off.

Link disagreed, though it was widely assumed that all Lizalfos were evil, this was not the case. He had come across many decent beings during his adventures that he would have labeled as creatures. It was true that many of the Lizalfos tribes had allied themselves with Zant and Ganondorf, and were instrumental to their upheaval of Hyrule. Though Link himself had never met any friendly Lizalfos he had heard a rumor that they lived on the Crescent Island, off the coast of the small Hylian territory of Labrynna.

Keeping his eyes fixed on the Lizalfos, Link began imparting Ralis with is great wisdom. "Ralis, a good leader never assumes anything, these could be friendly Lizalfos, or they could be servants of Ganon." He said opting for the more demonic sounding name for the holder of the Triforce of Power. "We don't know, but a true hero never attacks someone if they are uncertain of their loyalties. It's too risky to approach them, so we might as well try and avoid them the best we can." Offering the Hawkeye to the Zora Prince so he could assess the situation, Link took note that he was alone on the cliff side. _Idiot_ Link scolding himself realizing that Ralis' voice wasn't trailing off, but in fact it was the boy headed down the cliff. He was going to attack the Lizalfos, and get himself killed in the process; Link could only hope that they were part of the Lizalfos tribes of Crescent Island. Taking up his Hawkeye he peered down the cliff, trying to spot the young Zora. Link couldn't find him, but he could see the Lizalfos pointing and placing their Ceratopian Skull helmets upon their heads and brandishing their weapons. _At least that answers whether they are friendly or not_ he thought. Following the general direction of the point, Link spotted Ralis awkwardly climbing down the cliff side. Mountainous terrain was no place for a Zora.

Link removed a Clawshot from his enchanted satchel, looking for a target to latch onto. It was the only way he could beat the Lizalfos to the child. Looking frantically around, Link could only spot a large lone tree, but it was out of range, the hero had run out of options, the Lizalfos were almost on top of the boy.

Ralis cursed himself on the way down, he just had realized that he carried no weapon, how would he fight these monsters off. He cursed the Lizalfos, why were they in his Mother's favorite place. He would show them, they would never come back here after he was through with them. Steadying himself he lowered himself to the soft sand along side the mountainous rocky cliff side. Looking at the cliff, Ralis found a rather crude but sharp fragment of rock, it was all he could find, it would have to do.

"What do we have here?" Hissed a voice.

"If et eint a little Zora. And aye am in the mood fur fish." The other answered. Raising his sword the Lizalfos let out a series of raptor like hoots and coos.

Link saw that he had only one shot at saving the Prince's life. He took a running jump off the cliff, hoping that he could cover enough distance during his fall to reach the tree, launching the claw towards the tree as he fell. The talons of the claw shot towards the bark, only one claw grazed the branch, but that was enough to trigger the talons to clamp shut barely ensuring the youths life wouldn't be lost. The Clawshot pulled the hero towards his destination with tremendous speed.

Ralis tried to raise up his feeble excuse for a sword, momentarily frozen by the fear that it might not hold up, and he would end up dead. The blade almost connected the ridge of his Sagittal caudal by the time he began to bring up his blade to parry, but he wouldn't make it in time. A blue blur rolled between the two beings raising up a forearm to counter the descending blade. Link blocked the sword with his gauntlet, sweeping the blow to the side of Ralis, causing the strike to miss him completely. Using their surprise at his sudden arrival he quickly moved against them, punching the attacking Lizalfos with his free hand, and backhanding his partner with the Clawshot. Using this momentary break in the battle he drew his Ordonian sword.

Link started to bring his shield around as the first retaliatory attacks began to fly. Side stepping out of the way, he let his shield slip off towards Ralis, hoping the boy would use it to shield himself from the combat. Gripping the sword with both hands Link engaged the Lizalfos. A ballet of blades took place, with Link parrying their blows. The Lizalfos not only had a blade in their hands, but a crude axe like blade attached to their tails, and would often swing at the hero's abdomen then his exposed back. With his swift speed, Link was able to parry the front attacks, bring his blade against his back and avoid the hacking blow from the axe.

The Ordonian sword was too heavy for extensive vigorous combat, it was meant to be used in tandem with a shield. Link soon grew wary and his grip started to falter on his sword. A Lizalfos came down hard on Link's blade causing it to fly free from his hand, skidding off into the sand. Both villains seeing his unarmed state swung wildly at Link. The one, who had disarmed Link, lunged at his belly. Link easily sidestepped his attack, and grabbed the creatures over extended arm, planning his torso against the Lizalfos shoulder. Pulling the Lizalfos off balance Link was able to swing the creature around into the path of the sweeping blade of his partner. The other Lizalfos' sword now was lodged into the neck his accomplice. Using the dead lizard's sword, Link drove it up through the fleshy under-jaw up through the Ceratopian helmet, both lizards slumped over dead.

Link was covered in the deep purple colored blood of the Lizalfos and exhausted, he was just about to drop the downed Lizalfos' blade when an armored Dynalfos lumbered over dragging his flail. Link starred at him wide eyed. The immense lizard began twirling his weapon. Link grabbed at his back in search for his bow, but it wasn't there it must have been tucked against his shield. The spiked ball jumped at Link, missing him by inches ejecting sand into the air. Link brought the sword down across the Dynalfos' forearm; it bounced off his heavily armed form causing him only a slight nuisance. He swung his attacked arm at the Hylian, sending him across the beach. He lumbered slowly over towards the downed youth. Bringing the flail higher, swinging it in a high arch he swung it over his shoulder to come down upon the would-be-hero's head. As the spiked ball passed the apex of his helmet, Link could hear an explosion, and see the back of the Dynalfos head ignite with fire, launching his head and helmet towards the sky. The ball landed next to Link's head, as the Dynalfos collapsed, his head bouncing off his own armored body. Link sat up to see Ralis, with the Hero's Bow aiming at where the lizard once stood. He must have drawn an explosive arrow out of his quiver. Link slumped over, glad, he had lived through this skirmish.

They journeyed around the rest of the island without incident. Link took the time to explain to Ralis the rashness of his decision, how it had endangered their lives and how they could have avoided it all together.

"I always thought that the hero jumped into any battle." Ralis admitted, explaining why he tried attacking the Lizalfos. Link had to admit, sometime he too acted too rashly, but if he were to live to see more seasons pass, he had to start using his head, and not just his body.

They didn't walk long before they reached the out cropping of Jabun's water cavern. It seemed to be surrounded by a yellow energy field, Link reached out to test it. As his hand approached the golden triangle grew more luminous, temporarily blinding them. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't see the shield anymore; Ralis quickly scampered in towards the shallow end of Jabun's wading pool, diving down in the water to see the submerged lower half of Jabun.

"Jabu-Jabu!" the boy cried, tears streaking down his face, as he embraced the large deity's massive jaw. The boy quickly told Jabun all that had happen since he had visited many months ago, and of his mother's death. The boy held Jabun's head and cried. Link couldn't see any tears fall from the great fish. Jabun shot a spray of water from the holes that sat above his head, sending a mist about the room, Link guessed that is how he cried. The great fish had a long triangular head which resembled an isosceles triangle, he had a wrinkled chin, and enormous wing-like fins, and a mouth full of quill like teeth.

Link let the Zora and Jabun talk for a while, the great fish comforted boy, placing his huge pectoral fins around him. Jabun then turned to address Link.

"Thank you for lowering the barrier Zant had placed on me." He explained, "I didn't realize he had such power in him, such a power I have only seen in once other being. I couldn't aid my fair queen or her people while contained in that seal."

"He drew his power from the Dark Lord himself," Link explained. "But he is no more; the Master Sword has once again vanquished him."

Ralis nodded explaining that Link, had been the one who defeated Ganondorf.

"I have come to seek your aid, Jabun God of the Seas. The Twilight Realm is engulfed in chaos, and we fear that their plight may again spill into our world. The Light Spirits have sent me here to collect an item they need to reforge the Mirror of Twilight."

Jabun nodded his great head. Digging in the wet sand he pulled out a long string of beads. "This is the string of Gahoia's mythical lunar pearls." He said laying them at the feet of Link. "They will help you on your quest." Link looked at the pearls they were small pea sized pearls, surely the deity was mistaken, this couldn't have been what he was sent to obtain. Link reluctantly pocketed them, looking to see if Ralis was ready for their trip home.

"Ralis, come back soon," The great fish requested. "And you Hero of Twilight, watch over him for me." Slowly the great fish backed out of his wading pool and headed out to the sea.

It wasn't long before Link was mounted upon Epona, heading towards Castle Town. It had taken him quite some time to convince Ralis, not to join him in his adventure to the Twilight Realm. "Your people need you know more than ever." Link explained, "You are now their King and you need to lead them." Ralis had seemed to believe what Link was saying, though he didn't know if Ralis was King yet or not. Link couldn't afford to take the boy to the Twilight, though he had saved him, Link couldn't be watching out for children during a battle. Link urged Ralis to use his experience on Jabun's Isle to encourage him to develop his mind, and not just his body.

_The Zoras will watch over him_ Link thought, as he approached the gates of Castle Town, _he'll be safe here in Hyrule._ This was more than he could say for himself.


	10. Chapter 10: New Recruits

Midna was growing impatient, not just from crouching in the shadows of the rafters, but of Link's lack of help. How many weeks had it been? She didn't know any more, and she was beginning to think her friend had abandoned her. Midna shook her head, as if to toss those thoughts aside like dew drops gathered upon her hair. She was never one to wait and be rescued any ways, was she not the one who went after Zant in the first place? She needed to focus on her mission at hand if she was going to get out of here alive. Using training from her Sheikah heritage Midna remained completely invisible, hugging the shadows closely.

She had penetrated a fortress of the mysterious group that stormed the royal castle that fateful day weeks ago. Little was known about this faction, only that it had grown in power immensely, it had assembled the largest Twili militia in a very short time. What the motives of this political powerhouse were and who held the reigns remained unknown. The loyalists to the crown had found the fortress she now crouched in; they believe it would shed some light on this mysterious cult and their leader. Midna had been sneaking in to the fortress roof for the last several days, learning the schedules of the guards so she could make it to the innards of the fortress without being detected. This is where her ninja-like Sheikah training was paying off; being rash would only get her killed here, or worse.

The East side patrol guard slipped underneath the rafters that Midna was perched, and out of the room. Midna knew she now had about two minutes after he checked out before his replacement would walk through those same doors. Two minutes isn't a lot of time, but she could do it. Slinking down from the rafters Midna made her way through the first set of doors. As she reached out to pull open the second set of doors, she heard the creak of rusty hinges of the doors she had just gone through. Had they changed up the routine? Midna wasted no time, springing forward she jumped towards a support pillar. Bounding off the support pillar she launched herself up even higher, her outstretched fingers grasped the rafters, which had previously offered her sanctuary. Despite her nimbleness, Midna wasn't completely concealed when the door was flung open. The guard caught a glimpse of her foot as he headed to retrieve the papers he forgot.

"Hey!" he began to shout, but he was quickly silenced by the six inch needle-like throwing knife which had lodged itself into him. Cursing Midna dropped down from the ceiling. A delayed guard would raise suspicions fast, exactly what she had hoped to avoid by staking out the place. She no longer had two minutes, she had no idea how much time she had. She broke out into a full sprint, she had to get to the records room, or her mission would be a complete bust.

Rounding the stairs she entered the records room. She grabbed the pile of maps, scrolls and several books, which lay upon the center table. If she couldn't find what she was looking for, at least she would get some idea of what they were planning. Midna could already hear the guards marching up the steps.

"This will have to do," Midna remarked, stuffing the items into her satchel. Kicking the door open Midna made her way to the adjacent room.

"Windows!" She exclaimed. She leaped through the glass shattering the window, sending shards of crystalline precipitation on the field below her. Hitting the ground with a somersault Midna was able to transfer her momentum into a sprint towards the woods. Once she reached the woods she would be able to lose her tail easily, if the leap through the window didn't discourage them in the first place.

Making her way back to her base camp, Midna began to riffle through the assortment of papers she had stolen. Most of it was worthless, but one of the books seemed to prove useful. It was a financial book; Midna recognized the name of who was funding this faction.

"No…" she whispered, eyes wide, "This is impossible!"

***

_Dear Colin and family,_

_Not much has happened since the last time I wrote; The Adventure's Guild has been successful so far in all their tasks. Zelda has just returned from the Lost Woods of Faron Forest. I was relieved to see that she had made it back, the woods are treacherous and one can easily loose themselves in all its twists and turns. It was certainly not a place to for a princess to be, especially alone. At least that is what I used to think, Zelda is proving to be most resourceful, I look forward to working with her more. Ashei is the only member who hasn't arrived back yet, however we have word that she is on her way, and soon we shall bring this concoction to the Light Spirits so they can summon the portal to the Twilight Realm. This may be my last correspondence until I return from the Twilight Realm. I give you all my best; you have all been the best family anyone could ask for. I shall see you soon._

_Link_

_PS we have picked up some new recruits:_

Link finished the rest of the letter, setting down the quill and drifted back to when Ritello first entered Telma's bar.

"Hey!" Shouted Darmion, over the murmur of the crowd. "Flippers aren't welcome here."

Link winced at the derogatory term some Gorons used to describe Zoras. It seemed that even after all of these years, there was still bad blood between the two races, even though these grievances stemmed from something that never happened. Glancing across the room, Link found the Zora Darmion spoke to, in full dress armor. The Zora's body was adorned in copper shin and thigh guards, a bronze chest plate and head encased in the fish-head brass helmet. Along with the traditional spear, which was adorned with a mollusk whose mantle contained a spiked sail-like protuberance, the Zora carried a strange assortment of weapons. The soldier garnished two short swords, and what appeared to be a small quiver snuggly attached to the soldier's right thigh. It contained a strange object like Link had never seen before a mixture of wood and metal, from what Link could observe it was slightly curved, like a 'J', he would have to ask about that later.

"Don't listen to him," Telma interjected, "everyone is welcome here."

"I'm looking for Link." A metallic voice stated, the Zora's words reverberating in the helmet. Stepping forward Link started advancing towards the Zora. Darmion positioned himself in Link's path stopping him from reaching his intended destination.

"I don't like the look of this Swamp Sucking Fin," Darmion lamented.

"We'll see what he has to say," Link said reassuringly.

Dropping to one knee the Zora produced a royal proclamation from Prince Ralis.

"I was sent to provide you aid on your quest on the behalf of Ralis. I am here in his stead; I understand a hero convinced his kingdom was in a ruler during such perilous times."

Link flashed a weak grin, worried that his advice to Ralis may cost this young soldier his life. Link's worries faded a little as he read Ralis' decree. It seemed that this soldier was none other than Ralis' personal bodyguard, ensuring he was among the best the Zorian army had to offer.

"This little fishy will only slow us down," Darmion continued to complain. "There is no way a Flipper would stand a chance against the Twili; I bet I can drop this chum in one shot."

"No..." Link started, but he never finished, his mouth miming the words. Darmion had grabbed a stool, and was going to bring it down on the Zora's head. Luckily the Zora was faster; dropping down to the ground, the soldier used the momentum to easily sweep Darmion's legs out from underneath him. With hands of lighting, the Zora drew the saber-like short sword and pressed it to the stony skin of Darmion's throat.

"Quick enough for you Pebbles?" the Zora scoffed.

Link let a smile slip out, after the Zora released Darmion and offered him a hand up. Though Darmion's wounded pride prevented him from taking the help. The saber-like nature of the swords was in contrast to Link's broad sword, allowing them to be wielded with great agility and speed.

Removing the fish-head helmet the Zora began the formal introduction.

"Ritello, at your service."

"My Goddess, she's a woman." Someone shouted, probably Shad

"You got a problem with that?" Telma pressed, never getting a response.

Link had to admit, he was as surprised as Shad, in the full armor, she looked like a man, but now he couldn't believe he didn't notice that he was a she. Her body was bristling with femininity, though, in comparison to some races, like Gorons, all Zoras did appear to be more gracile. She wore her Zorian Cephalic fin, or whatever Zoras considered hair, in normal Zorian fashion. Her two bang-link fins dropped down slightly past her epicene shoulders and ended in a ring piercing. While her Cephalic tail hung down to her mid back. Her body was taut with lean muscle that complemented her petite frame, hour-glass torso, and supple breasts. Even her weapons were effeminate; the blades were scalene triangles, roughly two feet in length, which curved slightly upwards at the tips. Completing the blades feminine sinuous design the blade met up with a handle, which curved slightly in the opposite direction. They had an almost evlen quality about them. And the device that sat in her quiver, obviously a weapon, was sleek, and adorn in engravings in both the wood and metal of the symbol of the Zora royal family, the Zora's Sapphire.

"What is that weapon you carry in your quiver?" Link asked, indicating the hip slung weapon.

"It is called a gun," Ritello explained. "It is a new technology based off of the shoulder cannon the Adventurer's Guild used during the Twilight Invasion. This weapon, however, is a miniaturized version it has a long range and good accuracy. The draw back is that the reload time is long, and it is very expensive to produce. The Hylian army won't order them, so they never went into mass production. This is the only one in existence, so it became a symbol of Zora ingenuity as well as an heirloom of the Zora Royal family; Ralis hopes it will bring us victory."

Link nodded as if in agreement. After admiring her gear, Link introduced Ritello to the rest of the Adventurer's Guild.

Telma had begun to shut down the bar for closing time, when she noticed a small cloaked child standing by the door.

Telma's eyes rolled, though customer's weren't suppose to bring their children in after 9, some still did, and worse yet some forgot that they had brought them with.

"Has anyone misplaced a kid?" she called to no one particular. After getting no response she approached the child.

"What is your name son?" She asked hoping to keep the kid calm. The hooded child turned to face Telma. Telma's normally stoic face was frozen in bewilderment, and the iridescent blue light that poured from the hoods opening, ensured the entire bar was made aware of the fact.


End file.
